Cabin Fever
by insaneantics21
Summary: By a freak booking accident Rachel and Quinn find themselves in the same cabin in upstate New York for two months over summer vacation.
1. Prologue

**Pairings/Major Characters:** Rachel/Finn, eventual Rachel/Quinn, Rachel's dads (Bruce and Michael), Judy Fabray.  
Mentions/Minor: Finn/Santana, Quinn/Finn, Quinn/Puck, Brittany/Santana  
Other Characters: The rest of New Directions, a couple of OC's, and mentions Jacob Ben Israel**  
**

**Author's Note #1:** Whew. This one was a beast. I wanted to get it done before the season 2 premiere because it is a summer fic taking place during this past summer. I want to send a special and giant thanks to **dramatricks** for being my motivation and inspiration for several pieces throughout the story.  
**Author's Note #2:** The story is told from both Rachel and Quinn's perspectives. The views overlap occasionally but every time you see a section break (XXXXXXXXXX) it indicates a switch in whose head you're in and whose thoughts you'll read. It's not hard to figure out, really, just thought I'd give you a heads up =)

**

* * *

Prologue**  
On the last day of school, after having been serenaded by Mr. Schuester and Puck, Rachel Berry heaved a heavy sigh of relief as she ascended the stairs to her bedroom. She wouldn't have long to rest, she needed to start packing, but there was a lot to reflect on. They had another year at glee club, Finn had told her again that he loved her, and she'd seen Quinn Fabray walking out of Sue Sylvester's office after glee club practice with a Cheerio's uniform in her hand. Two out of those three things made Rachel ecstatic. Quinn and the Cheerio's uniform was _not_ one of them. It meant the return of Quinn the bitch, whose life goal was to make Rachel's life miserable.

Rachel heard the front door slam and her Daddy, Bruce, call out to her that he was home but going out to begin packing their SUV. Rachel called back that she was just finishing up her suitcase, jumped off her bed, and started packing her bathroom items into her toiletry bag. It was tradition for the Berry family to go away for a little while in the summer and this year Rachel was especially excited. Two months in a secluded cabin by a lake in upstate New York sounded fantastic before returning to slushies and name-calling. Two months away from the Cheerios and two months to prepare for the shit-storm that was going to be Quinn as head Cheerio again.

XXXXXXXXXX

Three blocks to the east and one to the south, Quinn Fabray smirked at her perfectly pressed Cheerio's uniform hanging on her closet door. She had to fit into it by the end of the summer and just like that, she'd be head Cheerio and back on Coach Sylvester's good side. Absolutely nothing was going to distract her until…

"Quinnie!" her mother called. "Get down here, we need to talk."

Quinn growled as she headed down the stairs to the sitting room to find her mother with a brochure and a huge smile.

"We're going on vacation!"

"What?" Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and arched her eyebrow at her over-eager mother. The woman had been trying desperately to win her daughter back. Quinn was showered with anything and everything she wanted in the last few weeks and her mother insisted on spa days every week. This, though? Vacation? Quinn didn't see this one coming.

"I wanted to surprise you. It's two months in a cab-"

"Two months?" Quinn screeched. "I have to get back on the Cheerios! If I don't fit into that uniform by the time school starts then my entire life? Completely ruined."

"Honey, you'll have plenty of time to get in shape. I'm sure there's a gym or a track in the town. Really, it's quite beautiful." Judy Fabray crossed the floor and opened up the brochure to show Quinn the picture-perfect cabin by a sparkling lake. "I've wanted to go for years but your father was always too busy. This will be perfect for us, Quinnie. We'll have time to get to know each other again, mother and daughter."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled.

Judy clapped and squealed and hugged her daughter. Quinn sighed and reluctantly returned the hug. Hugging was a new thing for them and Judy seemed to be determined to break some kind of record. Quinn goes to school? Hug. Quinn comes home? Hug. Quinn goes out for the night? Hug. Dinner together? Hug. Quinn does the dishes? Hug. Quinn agrees to two months in Hell disguised as a cabin in the woods? Really big hug.

"Go ahead and go pack. Just pack everything. If you forget something we'll just buy what you're missing when we get there. Our flight leaves on Sunday!"

Quinn nodded. She glanced over the brochure on her way back up the stairs to her room. She tossed the brochure aside and grabbed her phone to send out a text to Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany.

_Mom decided we need a vacay. I'll be gone all summer 2 some cabin in the woods. Pray 4 me xo -Q_

Quinn's phone immediately buzzed at her after she hit send and she rolled her eyes at the message.

_If u get killed by sum psycho i so get head cheerio -s_

Quinn grabbed the brochure again and glanced at it once more before scowling and searching for her largest suitcase. She had to pack for upstate New York.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**  
Rachel was up at precisely 5:30am and in the back seat of the Berry SUV at 6:00am with her pink Carebear and pillow, ready for the lengthy drive to New York. She would've liked two months in the city, sure, but her dads had decided they needed time away from any kind of city life and the cabin by the lake was going to offer them exactly that.

The cabin was large; Rachel had looked over her Dad, Michael's, shoulder when he booked the rental. There was one large common room with two stone fireplaces on either wall. In front of one fireplace was a large, red, plush-looking couch, two matching armchairs, and an area rug, the other fireplace only had a rug in front of it. There were bookshelves on either side of the fireplace where the seating area was. Beyond the fireplaces was a dining area with a large table to seat up to eight and then beyond that was the furnished kitchen area with an island and plenty of counter and cabinet space. Between the fireplaces and the dining area were two doors, one on each side, each of which led to two bedrooms and a bathroom. Rachel had asked her dad to put in a request to ensure that all dead, stuffed animals be taken down.

The fourteen hour drive was grueling; Rachel tried to sleep as much as she could but failed miserably. Her iPod had apparently decided it didn't want to charge the night before and so she was stuck without music. She settled for reading Streisand: A Biography for the sixteenth time.

The Berrys were all exhausted by the time they reached the cabin. Rachel whined when she was asked to carry in a suitcase that wasn't hers but got over it quickly when her dads threatened to take away her iPod charger. She unpacked all of her things into the provided dresser and closet space and put her own sheets on one of the twin beds in her bedroom. The trio collectively agreed that they'd go sight-seeing and shopping the next day before turning into bed. Rachel sent a goodnight text to Finn telling him she missed him. The response made her growl.

_Got to lvl 17! Night!_

Rachel was up at 8:00am the next morning feeling well rested and definitely ready to start her day. Her dads had commented on a diner they'd seen when coming through town and they decided to go there for breakfast. Unfortunately for Rachel, the only vegan breakfast item on the entire menu was bagels that looked like they'd been sitting on the counter for a while. She sighed and ordered a salad. Her dads both told her she might have to break her veganism for the summer if she was expected to eat anywhere other than the cabin.

Just before the Berrys paid their tab, Bruce's cell phone rang. Rachel watched, semi-interested, as he conversed with whoever was on the line. When he sighed and his eyebrows furrowed, her sixth sense told her that something incredibly unpleasant was about to be unveiled.

"They double booked the cabin," he said when he hung up. "The guy said they usually have two families in there but it's always part of a group. He saw that the other family had the same town listed as us and assumed we were all together."

"It's someone from Lima?" Rachel asked curiously.

Bruce nodded. Michael sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Rachel chewed on her lower lip nervously. Her sixth sense was going nuts. For some reason, she couldn't put her finger on it, the first thought that shot into her head was, "Oh my Streisand, what if it's Quinn?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn was silent the entire shuttle ride to the airport. Her mother was next to her, absolutely glowing and giddy, as they drove to Columbus. They found their gate and waited with only three other people. When Quinn saw their plane, she groaned.

"Mom, it's smaller than our house."

"Nonsense, Quinnie! It'll be fun!"

"Fun" turned out to be a turbulent flight with a smell that Quinn couldn't quite identify. Luckily it was short; Quinn had never been so happy to see land in all of her life. Except that the runway was actually more like a field. She held on for dear life as the pilot practically crash landed. The "fun" continued when they actually hit a deer. They _hit_ a deer. On the runway. At the airport. She'd landed in Hell…and hit a deer. They had to wait half an hour for the deer carcass to be picked up. Quinn was slightly unnerved that the men doing it looked like experts.

After exiting the plane and a snarky comment to the pilot about whether they'd crashed or been shot down, Quinn felt a little better. She reasoned that at least her life couldn't get any worse. At least until her mother's phone rang.

Quinn listened half way as her mother answered with few-word phrases like "I understand" and "That's perfectly fine". The younger of the two blondes simply grabbed her bags and walked toward the airport parking lot. Two men were standing near what looked to be the newest car in the entire lot with a sign that said "Fuhbray" on it. Quinn rolled her eyes and growled at them as she ripped the piece of paper out of the hands of one of them. Her mother hung up the phone and tipped each man with a five dollar bill, helped Quinn get the bags in the trunk of the car, and finally settled in.

"There's been an issue with the cabin," Judy said as she started the car. "It looks like we'll be sharing with another family for the summer."

"Great," Quinn mumbled.

"Maybe they'll have someone you can hang out with, dear!"

"Please don't ever mention 'deer' around me again."

The drive to the town was boring. There were trees, trees, squirrels, and more trees. They drove through the small lake-front town; the sign said "Kent" but to Quinn it might as well have just said "Welcome to Hell. Population: You, loser."

They drove for a while longer and Quinn groaned as she watched the mileage gauge register almost four miles from civilization. When they pulled up to the cabin the other family's SUV was already there. As Quinn grabbed her bags from the back of the car she looked the SUV over and something was a little…off. She looked again just as her mother called to her from the front door and she saw it. There was a giant, glittery gold star decal on the back window.

"No way," Quinn gasped. "No freakin' way. Mom, we have to get out of here."

XXXXXXXXXX

The Berrys immediately headed back to the cabin after breakfast to await the arrival of their new housemates. Rachel selected a book from one of the enormous bookcases, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and curled up on one of the couches in front of the un-lit fireplace in the sitting area.

Michael and Bruce pulled stools up to the kitchen island to start writing out a grocery list for when they drove to the nearest Wal-Mart in Albion that afternoon. The kitchen was bare aside from eight sets of flatware and a cabinet full of various cups. Between reading the rather…interesting…book she'd selected, Rachel rattled off things she wanted and was again told she might have to break her vegan diet.

Just as Rachel reached the end of the first chapter of her book for the second time (she'd gone back through and counted how many times the word 'sex' appeared in that chapter alone, it was thirteen) there was a car door slam outside. Rachel jumped and watched the front door nervously. Her fathers each waited next to the couch as they listened to two female voices argue rather loudly.

"Mom, we have to get out of here."

"Why, honey? This place is so adorable! It's so rustic! Come on, it's not going to be that bad."

"No, you don't understand, we _have_ to leave!"

Rachel started shaking her head as she scrambled off the couch. "No…no, no, no!"

"Rachel?" Bruce reached out to put a hand on his distraught daughter's shoulder. "Rachel, is everything alright?"

"I know that voice."

The front door burst open before Bruce could inquire any further and Rachel's jaw dropped as Judy Fabray stepped into the cabin with two suitcases and a huge smile. Quinn followed right after, her head hung low.

"Hello!" Judy said happily.

"Quinn…" Rachel squeaked.

"Treasure Trail."

"You two know each other?" Michael quirked an eyebrow.

"Dad, Daddy…Quinn Fabray and her mother-"

"Judy!" Judy exclaimed. She dropped her bags and immediately walked up to the Berry men and extended her hand. "Judy Fabray!"

Rachel stared blankly at the blonde with two suitcases in front of her and one in her hand. This was going to be Hell. She really, honestly thought she was going to have a peaceful summer and now…Quinn Fabray was standing in front of her, probably concocting ways to make Rachel's entire summer completely miserable. Rachel could see it now: slushie facials before dinner, "RuPaul, pass the salt", pornographic pictures carved into trees. Her eyes started to burn as she watched Judy Fabray shake hands with her dads and smile widely at them.

"This will be so much fun!" Judy said. "I was unaware that the gays were fond of the outdoors!"

Rachel didn't bother sticking around to hear the response. She dropped the book on the couch and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

As her mother started rambling about seeing the glee club at regionals and how wonderful Rachel performed, Quinn clenched her fists at her sides and growled at the short brunette staring at her like she'd just seen a ghost. Quinn started to miss the tiny plane with the funky smell and decided that _yes_ her life could definitely get worse.

Quinn stared down her enemy while her mother went completely insane over the two Berry men. Rachel's eyes were wide with fear. Quinn took this as a good sign, a sign that she could instill enough fear in the diva to keep Rachel out of her hair. She watched a tear drop out of Rachel's eye before the brunette took off running toward one of the doors on either side of the cabin. Quinn heard her mother say something about the gays and the outdoors which snapped her attention back to the adults.

"Well, Judy," the tall, African-American man who had introduced himself as Bruce said, "we're not that much different from anyone else. Honey," he addressed the other man, "go see what's wrong with Rachel, will you?"

The other one, Michael, Quinn recalled, nodded and retreated to their side of the cabin. Quinn rolled her eyes and focused back on the conversation her mother was having.

"Well, Bruce, I just want to let you know that despite what you've heard about my soon to be ex-husband, I'm very open minded. I have no problems with you and your partner. And neither does Quinn!"

At the sound of her name Quinn nodded absentmindedly until her mother spoke again.

"Would you be more comfortable with a pride flag hanging somewhere?"

Quinn choked back a laugh and tried to disguise it as a cough. "Mom!" she growled. "You can't just…oh my God. I'm taking our stuff to the bedrooms."

"Good idea, Quinnie. I'm going to stay here and chat with Bruce a little more."

"I think you should help me with the bags," Quinn said through clenched teeth. Her life already sucked enough, she didn't need second hand humiliation because of her mother.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rachel let out a long, frustrated growl once her bedroom door slammed shut. She paced the floor a few times, wondering why the world had suddenly decided to hate her more than usual. The sound of her phone signaling she had a text made her momentarily forget her anger until she read Finn's message.

_i watched road trip. is it tru that it dosnt count if ur not in the same area code n u cheat?_

Rachel almost threw her phone at the wall but decided against it and instead typed a furious message back to him.

_YES IT COUNTS. Why would you ask me such a thing?_

_Well ur gonna b gone 4 ever. I miss u…and u kno…stuff._

Quinn Fabray ruining her summer _and_ her boyfriend badgering about the lack of sex for two months? Rachel rolled her eyes and punched out the response so hard she feared the phone might break. She loved Finn, she really did…but he was a moron and she couldn't deny it. Especially not now.

_I'm sure you can figure out a way to take care of your urges without the help of someone else._

_Well yah but its more fun when ur here._

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, fun for you and the mailman," she muttered. "We do it once before I leave and now he's in permanent heat."

_I can't deal with this right now, Finn. My entire summer has just been completely ruined. If you wish to engage in affairs with other persons, go ahead. Just don't expect me to be considered your girlfriend anymore._

_Wait, r u breaking up w/ me?_

_I will break up with you if you cheat on me._

Rachel waited for a response but it never came. She tossed her phone on her nightstand just as her bedroom door creaked open. Michael poked his head in with a soft smile and Rachel nodded for him to come in.

"Sweetie, is everything okay?"

Rachel shook her head and blinked back her tears. "This is horrible, Dad. Absolutely horrible!"

"Rachel, I don't really understa-"

"Quinn Fabray! Head Cheerio, Quinn Fabray! She's made my life a living hell since junior high. Name-calling, slushie facials…summer is supposed to be my time to remove myself from that toxic environment and now I'm being forced to live with one of my main tormentors!"

Michael sighed and cautiously sat down on Rachel's bed. Rachel leaned into her father's side as he rubbed her back while she let the tears spill over.

"Maybe since this is a different environment she'll be less abrasive," he said, his voice full of hope.

"I highly doubt it."

"Give it a few days, okay honey? If there are any problems then I'll have a talk with Judy. If the situation can't be resolved then we'll leave."

Rachel nodded. "I believe I can agree to those terms."

"That's my girl," Michael said with a soft smile. "Is there anything else?"

"I hate boys."

"Oh." Michael stiffened. "Well, Rachel, I can't say I didn't see this com-"

"No!" Rachel shrieked. "I don't mean it like that! Finn's just being…well, he's being a typical teenage male."

"Right, typical teenage male. Do I need to get your daddy to beat him up?"

"As much as I'd love to take up your offer at the current moment I'm sure I'll be over it by the time we return to Lima."

"Alright baby girl. But you know we're here for you whenever you need us, right?"

"Of course."

Michael kissed his daughter on the top of the head and exited her room. Rachel stared at the door for a few moments before looking back to her phone and letting out a heavy sigh. She knew that the first chance Quinn got that the blonde would be texting her friends, telling them she was stuck in a cabin with RuPaul for two months and that Quinn would get sympathy while all she had was a boyfriend who only cared about getting high scores on video games and sex. She would have to make the best of things, though. So, in resilient Rachel Berry fashion, she dried her tears and washed her face and walked back out to the common room to face the music.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn grumbled a few choice words under her breath as she dragged her mother to their side of the cabin with the suitcases. They looked in each room and Quinn chose the room with the two twin beds and let her mother have the queen size. She unpacked all of her things and took her toiletry bag to the bathroom before going into her mother's room.

"Mom, you're really sure we have to stay here?"

Judy smiled up from tucking things away into her dresser. "Quinnie, it'll be wonderful! A real cultural experience! The gays have their own culture, you know?"

"Okay, first of all, _please_ stop with that."

"With what?"

"The whole 'the gays' thing. It's embarrassing."

"I'm trying to make new friends, Quinn. Your father and his narrow-mindedness completely alienated everyone except for my bible study group. I believe that Michael and Bruce would be very fun to have around."

"Please don't do this," Quinn muttered. She couldn't believe her ears. Her mother was completely set on befriending the fathers of her mortal enemy. She stopped thinking that her life couldn't get any worse. Every time she thought it, it did. Quinn sighed and stared out the window; she was completely unaware that her mother left the room until she heard voices.

"What do you men think about redecorating?"

Quinn's eyes widened with horror. She tripped over the bed in trying to get to her mother before the woman said anything else embarrassing.

"Well, Judy," Bruce said, "I don't really see the need. It's only for two months and the décor here is alright, I guess. I don't really know much about interior decorating."

"Neither do I," Michael added.

Quinn scrambled to get back to the common room but was too late.

"Oh…well…that's odd. I thought the gays were fabulous decorators. The man I hired to decorate our house when we first moved in was absolutely amazing. Maybe you know him! His name is-"

"Mom! Stop!"

"Quinn, you know better than to interrupt."

Quinn shook her head and again mumbled a few choice words under her breath. "Please stop embarrassing me." Judy squeaked and Quinn looked up to the two Berry me who were both looking at her with a little sympathy for her second-hand humiliation. "I'm so sorry," Quinn mumbled to them. She may have been a cold and ruthless bitch but she wasn't about to listen to her mother inadvertently offend the two men all summer long. "She…doesn't get out much."

"That's going to change," Judy said brightly.

"We're going to Wal-Mart today," Bruce said before anything else came out of Judy's mouth. "The cabinets and refrigerator are all bare. Is there anything you two need? We'd be happy to pick it up for you so you can have some time to rest."

"We'll make a list," Quinn said as soon as she saw her mother's eyes go wide with excitement. Quinn knew, she just _knew_ that her mother would say something about shopping with 'the gays'. Just as Quinn pulled her mother to the kitchen to start writing out a grocery list, Rachel quietly walked back into the common room. Quinn glanced up from the notebook and took quick note of Rachel's red eyes and dejected look and for a split-second she actually felt…well, she felt. It was some kind of feeling bordering on guilt as Rachel hugged her dads and then curled up on the couch with a book. Quinn finished up the grocery list and handed it off to the Berry men along with some cash to pay for their portion. Rachel scrambled up off the couch and followed her fathers out the cabin door.

"I'm going to go take a nap," Quinn grumbled, heading to her bedroom. Her mother nodded and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you agreed to this, honey," Judy whispered. "I really hope you'll come around to like it."

Quinn pulled away and nodded; her mother pushed her hair back and kissed her forehead.

"I might go into town while you're napping."

Quinn nodded again and silently retreated to her bedroom to try and sleep and to possibly conjure up ways to keep Rachel out of her hair.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rachel wandered aimlessly around Wal-Mart with her dads searching for food. They had two and a half shopping carts full by the time they got to the check-out. Noting her solemn mood, Rachel's dads attempted to cheer her up by letting her take her pick of the $5 movie shelf since there were no DVDs anywhere in the cabin and none of them had thought to bring any with them. They ended up with ten movies, all of which they had at home, but neither man said anything.

As the houses and small stores flew passed on their way out of Albion, Rachel tried desperately to figure out how she could make this work. She didn't hate Quinn but it was very hard to like her with how the blonde insisted on treating people. Rachel figured that the best course of action would be to avoid Quinn as much as possible until they were used to each other's company.

"Rachel, sweetie, look!" Michael half-shouted as he pointed across the SUV and out the driver's side window. "There's a berry patch!"

Rachel couldn't help but giggle.

"It looks like they open in a few weeks, baby girl," Bruce said. "Would you want to go?"

"Sure," Rachel said with a shrug. "Fresh berries will be wonderful for breakfast."

When they got back to the cabin, Bruce backed the SUV up close to the front door. There was loud music coming from inside and Rachel furrowed her eyebrows at the familiarity of the tune.

"Is that…Cher?" she wondered out loud. Both of her fathers shrugged.

Arms loaded up with groceries, the Berrys opened the front door to find Judy poking at an old record player that was on one of the bookshelves. The older blonde greeted the three with a smile.

"I found these in my closet," Judy said. "There is a whole selection of records!"

Michael and Bruce each hurried to the kitchen with their bags and back outside again. Rachel shook her head and sighed.

"Mrs. Fabray…"

"Judy, dear. Please call me Judy."

"Judy," Rachel sighed, "I was unaware you were a fan of Cher."

"Truthfully, I'm not. But I thought your family might be!"

"I do consider myself a fan but my fathers really aren't. They're more into classic rock."

Judy furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh."

"Thank you for your consideration, though," Rachel said brightly. "We appreciate you being so accepting."

The older blonde's expression lightened considerably and she chatted animatedly with Rachel about the records she'd found. Rachel's interest actually piqued when Judy mentioned a few Broadway titles. After the groceries were in the kitchen and put away Rachel sat on the floor in front of the fire place with Judy and went through the albums that had been found. Her dads joined them and found a few albums of interest themselves. When Bruce started telling the story of his and Michael's first concert date and all of the things that went horribly wrong, Rachel finally let out a few genuine laughs and Judy was all but rolling on the floor.

XXXXXXXXXX

From the doorway of her bedroom, Quinn peeked out to watch Rachel talking with her mother in front of the fireplace. She growled at Rachel's smile when her mother handed over one of the records. She felt the tears sting her eyes as Rachel talked about musicals and her mother actually looked interested. Like, genuinely interested. Not just pretending to be interested. She was actually listening to Rachel Berry go on about some musical and she was asking questions.

Quinn retreated back to her room and tried to muffle the sounds of laughter coming from the common room by covering her head with a pillow. It also succeeded in muffling the sounds of her sobs as she wished that she could have the kind of relationship with her mother that Rachel seemed to fall into in only the few short hours they were there. But the relationship with her mother was so strained and had been for so long that she wondered if she could ever just…relax. The next thing Quinn was aware of was being woken up for dinner. She washed her face and tried to get the redness out of her eyes but knew she failed miserably when Rachel caught her gaze and the brunette's eyes widened for a moment before she turned away.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
The first three days were uneventful. The two families spent their time exploring the small town and trying out local restaurants. Rachel broke her vegan diet to sample the local fresh fish since it appeared that her dads were right and there wasn't going to be much in the way of vegan cuisine. Quinn still wouldn't speak to her and Rachel saw more than once a look of almost-hurt in the blonde's eyes when Judy would engage Rachel in conversation about something. Despite her several attempts to get Quinn to join in on any conversation, Rachel was always met with silence.

Thursday evening, after dinner, Rachel curled up on the couch with the book she'd started on Sunday and focused on its pages. She heard a few murmurs and glanced up to see her dads heading toward the front door as they announced that they were going on a walk by the beach. Judy called out for them to have a good time; Rachel jumped up off the couch to join her dads.

"Rachel, sweetie, you're more than welcome to stay here with us!" Judy said from the kitchen. "I'm sure Quinn wouldn't mind. We could have some girl time. I brought my entire spa case!"

"Mom…" Quinn growled.

Rachel looked up at Michael and Bruce, both of whom shrugged. She contemplated the offer for a few moments. She really didn't feel like going out very much and she _did_ need a facial; her strict skin care regiment couldn't be shoved on the back burner just because it was vacation. Also, Judy sounded like she'd keep Quinn in check. With a deep breath, Rachel nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, Rachel found herself sitting on one of the dining room chairs that had been placed in the Fabray's bathroom with Quinn sitting on the countertop staring down at the floor. Testing her father's hope that Quinn's mood might be a bit lighter in this different environment and because she'd had time to adjust, Rachel spoke first.

"It's a rather unlikely situation we've found ourselves in, isn't it?" she asked, her gaze focused to a picture of a tree hanging behind the toilet. She braced herself to be told to shut up or to get the hell away.

"I guess."

The uncharacteristic soft response made Rachel flinch a little more than if she'd been told to shut up. She proceeded cautiously with her follow-up.

"It could almost be a plot for a mediocre comedy film."

"Until the part where I throw you in the lake for talking too much," Quinn mumbled.

Ah, familiarity. Rachel swallowed hard and took another deep breath. "You know, Quinn, no one would have to know if you decided to be civil toward me this summer. You could even be a little friendly. I promise I won't tell any of your friends. And to spare you the snide comment, I'm aware that none of your friends would ever speak to me, let alone believe me."

"Or I could ignore you and you could stay out of my way."

"I'm not sure why you insist on treating me like this, Quinn. I have nothing you want anymore, do I?"

Judy chose that moment to come into the bathroom with her large case and start rambling about makeup and makeovers and how she used to turn her bathroom into a makeshift spa back in high school for her and her girl friends to use. Rachel sat quietly as Quinn grabbed everything she needed for a pedicure and moved to the edge of the large bathtub to soak her feet. Judy smiled and showed Rachel the organic facial kit with a broad smile.

"You have beautiful skin, sweetie," Judy said. She grabbed a wash cloth and ran it under the warm tap; Rachel took it with an appreciative smile and cleaned her face. "Do you do this with your dads? The gays are fond of grooming, aren't they?"

Rachel blinked a few times; Quinn groaned.

"I…no. The only time I've ever done anything like this with anyone else…well," Rachel sighed, "it was a rather embarrassing hoax that I'd rather not discuss." She darted her eyes to Quinn, whose gaze was fixated on the bathtub faucet.

Judy nodded and motioned for Rachel to tilt her head back while she spread on the facial mask. She continued to engage Rachel in conversation about her dads and Rachel had to giggle at the shocked expression when she revealed that Bruce was manager/part owner of Lima Lumber, Inc. and Michael worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Department and that they weren't fashion designers, interior decorators, or cosmetologists. It was the first time Rachel noticed that it was strange how she easily slipped into conversation with Quinn's mother when the younger blonde was so hostile. Rachel let herself, though, since Quinn didn't seem interested in speaking to either of them.

Rachel smiled as Judy talked about hanging out with her girl friends in high school and college as she filed away at the brunette's nails. All Rachel heard out of Quinn was a few yeses and nos when her mother would ask about Santana or Brittany.

"So, Rachel, are you seeing anyone?"

"Mom!" Quinn yelled before Rachel had a chance to answer. "God, you barely even know her and I _don't_ want to hear anything she has to say."

"Quinn, that's extremely rude."

"I don't care."

Rachel looked up to see Quinn glaring holes right through her. It wasn't hate in the blonde's eyes, though. It was…jealousy?

"Quinn," Rachel straightened herself up a little, "I apologize if you've felt alienated from the conversation. I'm certain it was never your mother's intention-"

"Shut _up_, Man Hands! I don't care."

Rachel pulled her hands away from Judy's grip as Quinn stormed out of the bathroom.

"Rachel, I am so sorry…"

"It's alright, Judy," Rachel said softly. "It's nothing I haven't heard before. However, I do feel that this is a situation I should discuss with her. It's been almost painfully obvious that Quinn disapproves of our acquaintanceship."

"She's always treated you like this?" Judy asked as she carefully wiped the mask away from Rachel's face.

"Like I said, it's alright."

With her face clean and a few deep breaths to get a little bravery, Rachel put on her shoes and set out to find Quinn. She didn't have to go far; she found the blonde sitting underneath a large pine tree just out of sight of the cabin.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn gritted her teeth as she listened to Rachel talk, just like she had been all week. When her mother asked about who Rachel was dating, though, that was the final straw. Not only did she definitely _not_ want to hear about Rachel's relationship with her ex-boyfriend, she didn't want to hear Rachel discussing it with _her_ mother. Quinn slipped on her sandals and grabbed flashlight before storming out of the cabin to go somewhere to think. She selected a large pine tree just far enough away from the cabin that she couldn't see it but not far enough away that she couldn't find her way back.

It wasn't fair. It really wasn't. Rachel had taken Finn (although Quinn had kind of forgiven her for it; Finn, while good for her reputation, just wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed) and now she was chatting it up with her mother. Chatting it up and smiling and laughing and doing all of the things Quinn wished she could do with her mother. She picked at the dead pine needles on the grass until she heard a crack. Her head snapped up and there stood Rachel with her hands nervously clutched in front of her and worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

"Quinn, whatever I did, I'm so so-"

"Save it," Quinn mumbled. "I don't want your sympathy. Let's just…go back inside and pretend everything's fine." Quinn stood and headed back for the house but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

"I think we need to talk about this instead of shoving it under the rug. My very sharp sense of observation mixed with my sixth sense tells me that you may be slightly jealous of my communications with your mother."

"I don't want to talk about this." Quinn tried to pull away but Rachel held on strong. "Let go of me, midget!"

"Why don't you want to talk about this?"

"Because," Quinn growled, ripping her arm out of Rachel's grip, "because that's not what Fabrays do, alright? We don't talk about it. We wait for it to go away; and in your case it'll be either when I kill you or this hell of a vacation ends, whichever comes first!"

"Quinn if my spending time with your mother is going to cause any further rift between the two of you then I will back off."

Quinn shook her head and felt her eyes burn. Her body started trembling as a sob escaped her mouth. She was angry with Rachel, angry with her mother, angry with everything. The rage ripped through her body and replaced the sob with a snarl. She snapped her head up, looked Rachel directly in the eyes, and growled. What fell out of her mouth next was quite possibly the cruelest, most horrible thing she'd ever said to anyone in her almost seventeen years of life. And the look on Rachel's face made her immediately regret it.

"Just because your mother didn't want you doesn't mean you have to take mine."

Rachel took a few steps back; her eyes were wide with absolute shock and Quinn saw the girl start shaking. She'd not only crossed the line but set it on fire in the process. She'd seen Rachel get a hundred slushie facials, her heart broken by Finn, say goodbye to her mother, egged by Jesse St. James, and coming incredibly close to losing glee club. Quinn had seen Rachel upset so many times but this? What _she'd_ just said? Never before had Rachel looked completely and utterly ripped to shreds.

"Rachel…Rachel I didn't mean it. I'm so s-sor-"

In an instant, Quinn found herself backed against a tree with Rachel's tear-filled eyes very, very close to her own and swimming with not only hurt but rage as well. She'd pushed Rachel's destruct button and knew she deserved whatever was coming to her.

"At least my parents actually love me," Rachel hissed.

If Rachel felt a fraction of what Quinn felt in that moment, the blonde wondered why Rachel hadn't just killed her right then and there. Whoever said that words didn't hurt was a lying sack of shit and Quinn hoped they were rotting in Hell right then. The look on her face must've said the same thing to Rachel as Rachel's said to her because the brunette immediately backed away and took off running for the cabin.

Quinn stayed where she was for a few moments, trying to catch her breath and figure out what to do next. She slowly made her way back to the cabin and was greeted with her mother and a concerned expression when she walked in the back door.

"Quinnie…What happened? Talk to me, baby, what happened?"

Quinn shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Sweetheart, this isn't your father's house. You can talk to me. You can tell me things; tell me anything."

Again, Quinn shook her head. She wanted to kick herself for wasting this opportunity with her mother. The woman was practically begging her to talk, to have a conversation, and all Quinn could do is retreat to her bedroom and slam the door. The last words she heard before the loud bang were, "I love you so much, Quinnie."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Just because your mother didn't want you doesn't mean you have to take mine."

The phrase shot through Rachel like a red hot bullet. Straight through her heart. Quinn had hit her where it hurt the most and it was obvious that the blonde realized it. Rachel's heart was beating so hard and the blood was coursing through her body so quickly that she barely heard the stuttered almost-apology. She could take slushies and eggs and little verbal taunts but this? Quinn had crossed the line. Normally, Rachel would take a few seconds to compose herself; she'd take a few deep breaths and get her look of confidence back before walking off to lick her wounds. This time, though? This time she let the rage take over and she reacted in a way that she didn't know she was capable of.

Rachel quickly had Quinn pinned against a tree and she glared into the blonde's hazel eyes, now wide with fear and regret, and she opened her mouth to speak. She almost didn't say it but when what Quinn had said echoed through her brain again she felt the overwhelming urge to make the blonde feel even just a fraction of the pain.

"At least my parents actually love me," Rachel hissed with as much venom she could possibly conjure up. She didn't believe it, in all honesty. She knew Quinn's mother loved her. Her father…well…she knew he had to love her, right? He was her father and he had raised her. How could anyone just stop loving their child that they'd raised?

The look on Quinn's face said to Rachel that she should've just left it alone. She should've walked away. But she hadn't. And now Quinn was standing in front of her, tears spilling over and trembling. For a split second Rachel tried, she really tried, to think of a way to soothe the blonde but instead she took off running back to the cabin. She heard Judy call to her as she went in through the back door and straight to her bedroom. A few minutes later she heard Judy's voice again and another door slam and then it was quiet.

Rachel fumbled for her phone to see she had no missed calls or texts at all from the day. She sighed. She hadn't told Finn that the Fabrays had shown up. He hadn't asked how her vacation was going, he only told her what level of some game he was on and one night he attempted sexting but that went horribly wrong, in Rachel's opinion, due to Finn's complete lack of grammar and spelling skills (_i want 2 b inside u rly bad_ was really, really not what was going to turn her on; not at that moment and not ever). She wanted so badly to call him and tell him that she was hurting and regretful and all of these things…but he'd never understand and, in all likelihood, he wouldn't care. It sucked on more than one level; Rachel didn't have anyone to call and Quinn had at least four people she could call to get sympathy from which was probably what she was doing at that very moment. Rachel shook her head at the thought, tossed her phone back onto her nightstand, rolled over, and cried herself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
Two extremely tense days went by and Quinn was sure she was about to break under it all. She would catch Rachel's eyes and open her mouth to apologize again and again but nothing would ever come out. She would stop in front of the couch where Rachel was curled up with her book and try to say something, anything, but she couldn't. There was only silence between the pair. One night, as she lay in bed sniffling and trying to get the tears to stop yet again, she heard her bedroom door open and her mother whispered that she loved her. Just as Quinn rolled over to try and say something the door shut and despite desperately wanting to get up to go after her, she didn't.

After another tension filled breakfast, Quinn had to get out. She barely said a goodbye to her mother before taking off running. She needed to run anyway; her body wasn't going to get back into Cheerio condition by just sitting around a cabin. She took off on one of the trails through the woods and then, ignoring everything she'd learned in Girl Scouts when she was younger, she veered off the path. She needed to be free of trails and paths for a bit. Unfortunately, she found out that this was the wrong trail to leave. She didn't see the tree root sticking out of the ground and the next thing she was aware of was a face full of forest floor and being in excruciating pain.

Quinn rolled over on her back and clutched her right knee; the pain was shooting up and down her entire leg and making it incredibly difficult to breathe. She finally managed to choke out a cry and a few whimpers. Her head was swimming with thoughts revolving around the end of her cheerleading career and dying alone in a forest. She was in too much pain to realize that her priorities weren't exactly in order. It didn't matter because soon the pain was such that Quinn had to keep her focus on not losing her breakfast.

When the pain subsided a little and Quinn regained coherent thought, she pulled herself to the nearest tree and tried to stand. It was a horrible idea. Quinn cried out as the pain shot through her leg again and she fell back to the forest floor. It was then that she realized she'd left her cell phone on the kitchen counter and that she was completely and utterly screwed.

Quinn sat with her back against the tree for what seemed like forever. She yelled out occasionally, hoping to get some attention, but she didn't get a response until something moved in a bush. Quinn jumped a little; panic set in as the rustling got a little louder and Quinn started saying her final prayers, sure she was about to get eaten by a bear. She didn't exactly feel intelligent when a squirrel popped its head out of the bush and nibbled on an acorn.

"I don't have any food," she mumbled.

The squirrel scampered closer.

"Seriously, I don't have any food."

The squirrel tilted its head and squeaked. Quinn groaned.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Why the hell am I talking to a squirrel? Go away!"

The squirrel inched a little closer and sat back on its hind legs and kept staring. It stared like it knew that all Quinn wanted was someone to talk to. Normally, Quinn would throw a rock or something to get the tiny, obnoxious thing away (or a slushie, she thought briefly) but she was sitting in the middle of a forest with a busted knee and there wasn't much else to do at the moment. She picked at a few leaves and sighed.

"I hate my life," she mumbled. "I mean, it's good, but…I can't do this. I can't talk to a squirrel. This is insane, completely insane."

The squirrel only blinked a few times in response. Quinn sat in silence, occasionally glancing at the squirrel that was now occupying itself by digging through the leaves. In only a few minutes it scampered off. Quinn sighed.

The blonde settled her head back against the tree and looked up through the branches at the sun that was slowly rising up in the sky. She had no idea how long she was sitting on the forest floor but it was long enough that she had plenty of time to think. Her most visited thought? Rachel. Rachel and that _look_ on her face the night before. The look that cracked even Quinn's heart. Hell, it probably would've even made _Santana_ flinch, Quinn thought. What she wouldn't give to take that back.

She thought about how she couldn't talk to her mother, she couldn't talk to Rachel, she couldn't even talk to a damn squirrel. She couldn't tell her mother that she wanted so badly to have a mother/daughter relationship where they could gossip about what was going on at school while shopping or just sitting at dinner. She couldn't tell Rachel that she was insanely jealous of her; jealous of her relationship with her dads, jealous of her budding relationship with her own mother, jealous of her unconditional confidence. She thought about how something _had_ to change before everything shattered.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two days. Two days of eyes locking with Quinn's and Rachel wishing she could say something but she couldn't. She wanted to so desperately. Quinn came to breakfast with her eyes red and swollen every morning and it just sucked. Rachel searched the cabin for a thesaurus the one morning to try and find a stronger word for "tension" because "tense" didn't even begin to cover the environment when she got up that morning. She sat across from an even more red-eyed Quinn than normal at breakfast where not much was said by either girl. Quinn left shortly after, stating she was going for a run. Rachel didn't miss the sigh from Judy as Quinn left the cabin. She felt horrible but before Judy had the chance to ask her to have more "girl time", Rachel barricaded herself in her room with her laptop and the movies she'd picked out.

A couple hours later there was a knock on her bedroom door; Rachel didn't have time to say anything before Judy came in, worry all over her face.

"Qu-Quinn didn't come back. She didn't take her phone and she never goes running this long. I know haven't…I know you're not close but did she say anything to you? Did you hear her talk on the phone? Anything?"

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. Before she could even think she sprang out of bed and grabbed her shoes, a first aid kit, and was out the door. Quinn's mother was heading into town while the Berry men took the SUV to the lake. Rachel was on foot in the surrounding woods and staying close to the cabin in case Quinn came back. She called out for the blonde again and again with no response.

Half an hour into the hunt, Rachel's phone rang. It was her dads telling her they hadn't found anything. Rachel surprised herself by whimpering and letting a few tears fall. The exchange a few days before hadn't been forgotten but at the moment, it didn't matter. What mattered was finding Quinn because, if nothing else, Judy didn't need the stress. However, as the moments started ticking by, Rachel found herself more and more worried about the younger blonde. She didn't want anything happening to Quinn, and not because she knew Santana and Brittany would blame her, but because she was really worried.

The Berrys weren't overly religious. They went to Temple on major holidays or when Michael's parents were in town but other than that, Rachel didn't really have a deep connection to her religion. She did know for a fact, though, that Quinn prayed. She prayed a lot. Another fifteen minutes after the phone call and Rachel found herself mumbling under her breath, asking for whoever was listening that Quinn was okay.

Rachel was incredibly close to giving up and heading back to the cabin when she heard it. She had called out another time and this time, unlike all the others, she heard a familiar voice calling back. Rachel took off running, far off the path she was on, all the while calling for (hopefully) Quinn to stay where she was and keep yelling.

Relief wasn't near what Rachel felt when she saw Quinn sitting on the forest floor up against a tree. She had no idea why she did it but the first thing Rachel did was drop to her knees and throw her arms around the blonde's shoulders. The bigger shock? Quinn's arms returned the embrace.

"Are you okay?" Rachel managed to squeak out while holding back her tears.

She heard Quinn choke a little before the blonde gave a simple nod and clutched a little tighter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn wasn't sure if it was the pain, the sun, or maybe that it was close to lunch and her blood sugar was low or something but whatever it was it made her want Rachel to be the one to find her. When she heard a voice, a very familiar voice, call out her name she almost cried.

"Rachel! Rachel, I'm over here!"

Rachel's voice returned, telling Quinn to stay where she was. That wouldn't be a problem. When Rachel was in sight, Quinn almost broke. When Rachel threw her arms around Quinn's shoulders, she did.

"Are you okay?"

Quinn opened her mouth and the words, "I am now" were on the tip of her tongue but all she could manage was a choked sob and to hold onto Rachel a little tighter. When Rachel pulled back she pushed Quinn's hair away from her face and Quinn didn't recoil or even flinch, she just kept her hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"I tripped," Quinn finally managed to get out. "My knee…" she looked down to her right knee, now swollen and bruised.

"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"

Quinn nodded and before she could stop herself she blurted out, "I'm so sorry, Rachel. I didn't mean -"

Rachel cut her off by shaking her head, her expression unreadable. "If you like, we'll talk about it later. Right now I need to call your mother and let her know you're alright."

Quinn nodded and waited for Rachel to call her mother. When Rachel held the phone out for Quinn to talk, the blonde only shook her head. Rachel sighed and ended the conversation then turned to her first aid bag. Quinn instinctively held out her hands; her palms were scraped and covered in dirt. Rachel took Quinn's right hand in hers and poured water from a water bottle over it then squirted a dab of soap from a small travel-size bottle. Quinn winced at the slight sting as she washed her hands and then rinsed them with the remainder of the water.

"This is going to sting a little," Rachel said, holding up the alcohol wipes.

Quinn nodded. She whimpered a bit at the sting. It was followed by ointment and wrappings in gauze.

Rachel produced two ice packs and an ace wrap from her bag and then rummaged around again before producing a t-shirt. She wrapped Quinn's knee in the shirt, broke the barriers on the ice packs and shook them then motioned for Quinn to hold one on either side of her knee while she wrapped it with the bandage.

"I guess you paid more attention in Girl Scouts than I did," Quinn said with a small smile.

Rachel chuckled. "I did memorize the handbook."

"I'm glad you did." Quinn winced as Rachel cleaned and bandaged her other knee.

"It has come in handy in first-aid needed situations. Do you think you can stand?" Rachel packed away the first-aid supplies and slung the bag over her shoulder. She knelt again and slipped one arm around Quinn's waist. Quinn swallowed hard and, using Rachel as a crutch, she hoisted herself up off the ground. She was a little dizzy and her good knee went a little weak; Rachel tightened her grip on both her waist and up on Quinn's arm that was wrapped around the brunette's shoulders.

"Just give it a minute," Rachel said. "I've got you, Quinn. I won't let go. I'm here."

She may have only meant it for that situation but Rachel's assurance that she was right there made Quinn feel a little better, a little safer, a little…lov-cared for. She leaned heavily on Rachel as she hopped forward little by little.

"How far out was I?" Quinn groaned as she leaned against a tree. She'd been begging Rachel to stop for a while but the brunette had insisted only a little further.

"Rather far. You shouldn't have strayed from the path, Quinn. Anything could've happened, you know? Trails are there for a reason."

"I know." Quinn bit her tongue from a snide remark about Rachel talking too much. The girl had just rescued her, after all.

"Luckily there was a section on navigating in the Girl Scout handbook and I feel quite confident in my skills to get us back to the cabin."

"Please don't get us lost any further, okay?"

Rachel smirked and started to walk off. Quinn almost yelled until Rachel pushed a tree branch out of the way revealing the clearing their cabin was settled on. "Do you want me to go get my dads?"

"Sure. I don't want to stunt your growth or anything. Well…any more." Quinn smiled.

Rachel rolled her eyes but it was with a grin. "I'll be back."

"Rachel," Quinn blurted out, stopping the brunette. Rachel turned and quirked an eyebrow; Quinn took a deep breath and decided now was as good a time as any to work on changing. "Thanks…for everything. Rescuing me…you know."

"I'm happy to be your knight in shining armor, Quinn. Well, whatever the female version of a knight is." Rachel nodded.

Quinn waited leaning by the tree for Bruce to come and scoop her up to get her back to the cabin. He settled her on the couch with a pillow under her knee; Rachel knelt down by the couch and readjusted the ace wrap and ice packs. Judy was going crazy and talking a hundred miles a minute, the last thing Quinn caught was, "…going home immediately…"

"Mom, stop! I…I don't want to go home. Isn't there like…a doctor I can see here?"

"Quinnie, I thought…are you sure?"

Quinn looked down to the end of the couch where Rachel was re-bandaging her other knee. Rachel gave a small smile and smoothed down the gauze and Quinn's focus went back to her mother.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Rachel immediately searched a phonebook for the location for the nearest urgent care center. In only a matter of minutes, Quinn found herself in a doctor's office with her mother on one side of the table…and Rachel on the other. Bruce had carried her to the car and Rachel had immediately jumped into the back seat. Quinn smiled a little. It was a start; and after sitting in the woods for three hours she figured it was kind of time for a new start.

"You didn't have to come," Quinn said. Rachel opened her mouth to speak but Quinn cut her off. "But I'm glad you did."

Rachel smiled wide. "I wouldn't be your knight in shining armor if I didn't make sure you were alright after the rescue."

Thankfully, her cheerleading career wasn't going to be coming to an end. Quinn's knee was only badly strained and she needed to stay off of it for a while; nothing was dislocated or torn. Rachel nodded furiously at everything the doctor said. Quinn rolled her eyes playfully. The doctor handed her a prescription for painkillers and directed Judy to the pharmacy next door to pick up the pills and a set of crutches while Rachel waited with Quinn.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, yet again. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine, Rachel. Thanks."

Rachel nodded. "Just tell me if there's something you need."

Quinn shook her head and smiled. For a pair that was close to killing each other only a few days before there was a surprising comfort between them now. Rachel was being incredibly nurturing, it made Quinn regret even more the comment she made about Shelby. It hit her that Rachel, a girl who grew up without a mother, was more nurturing than Quinn thought she'd ever be even with growing up in a "traditional" household. Her conservative upbringing said that mothers were to be nurturing, fathers were the disciplinarians and that was how well-rounded children came about. However, Quinn had witnessed first hand the nurturing nature of both of Rachel's fathers and Rachel hadn't really turned out too bad aside from being a little egotistical and almost too determined sometimes.

The door to the doctor's office opening and Judy appearing with crutches and a pharmacy bag knocked Quinn out of her thoughts. She slowly made her way back to the car with Rachel practically glued to her side. When they returned to the cabin a makeshift bed had been set up on the couch complete with pillows for Quinn to keep her knee propped up. Judy went back into town to get more ice packs and larger elastic bandages; Rachel set to work on a sandwich because Quinn had barely mumbled that she was hungry. She was presented with the sandwich on a tray along with a painkiller, glass of milk, and slices of apple.

"It says to take with food," Rachel said. "I want to ensure you get the full benefit."

"You'll make a great mom someday, you know?" Quinn glanced up from her sandwich to see Rachel open and close her mouth a few times before settling on a small smile. "I didn't mean what I said, you know? The other night."

Rachel pulled over an armchair and sat down with a deep breath. "It's true. Shelby didn't want me."

"Yes she did. I mean, she did look for you."

Rachel shrugged. "She didn't want a teenager. She wanted a baby…She did get what she wanted in the end…I got nothing."

Quinn dropped her head and took an apple slice. Yes, Shelby got what she wanted. Shelby got Beth. Shelby got Beth because Quinn couldn't be a mother. She didn't know how to be the mother she wanted to be.

"I suppose," Rachel continued after the silence, "that we have a little something in common, not only with Shelby but with our familial situation. The only difference is that you still have a chance with your mother. She does love you, Quinn. What I said was out of anger and retaliation but it was a lie and I'm so very sorry for that."

"We both said things we regret. Look…I just…" Quinn sighed. "I can't talk."

"Would you like me to lea-"

"No, no I mean…I don't know _how_. We never talked about anything when I was growing up; we just pushed it all aside. I don't know how to talk about bad things."

Rachel nodded. "Well, as someone who is quite loquacious, my advice to you is to simply talk about the bad things in the way you talk about the good. And, for future information, I'm also quite good at listening should you ever want to talk."

Quinn nodded and finished off her sandwich and apple slices. She took her painkiller with the remainder of her glass of milk and Rachel took the empty tray to the kitchen. Rachel returned to her chair and in only a few minutes, Quinn's brain started swimming and her world started getting fuzzy. There was a loud slam of what sounded like a door but Quinn didn't really care. The last thing she was aware of was being covered by a blanket, a hand on hers, and soft singing. It was strange, though, that the singing didn't come from a brunette but from a blonde.

XXXXXXXXXX

As Quinn drifted into her drug-induced sleep, Rachel took her tray to the kitchen and returned to the side of the couch. Just as she sat down Judy came in through the back door. Rachel got up immediately and took the bag from Judy's hand and motioned for the older blonde to go to her daughter's side. Rachel watched from the kitchen as Judy took the blanket from the back of the couch and covered her daughter then sat down in the arm chair and slipped her hand into Quinn's that was sticking out of the blanket.  
The brunette busied herself with the dishes and putting the ice packs in the freezer, all the while listening to Judy whisper to her daughter.

"I know you don't remember, Quinnie, but I sang to you. Every night, I would sing to you. It was the only thing that would calm you down when you were upset. Much to your father's disapproval you loved when I'd sing anything by Cyndi Lauper."

Rachel smiled as Judy began softly singing the beginning of "Time After Time".

Despite Rachel's protests, Quinn got up off the couch for dinner. For the first time, a meal in the cabin was pleasant and filled with conversation from all parties. Rachel and Quinn talked about glee club and things that they wanted to do for the remainder of the vacation. At one point Quinn suggested camping; Rachel nodded furiously.

"Rachel," Michael said, "sweetie, we tried camping once when you were ten. It…didn't work."

"I vividly remember that, Dad. I still have scars. However, I'm older now and I believe it would be a good experience." Rachel looked back to Quinn with a smile that widened when Quinn chuckled.

"It's settled then," Bruce said, "as soon as Quinn's knee is healed we'll pack up and go camping for a few days. I saw a place in town where we can rent everything we need."

Following dinner, Rachel helped Quinn to the living room and got the blonde settled back on the couch with an ice pack on her knee. Rachel wasn't entirely sure when this whole nurturing thing had kicked in or even that she had it in her but she did know that taking care of Quinn felt…nice. The insults and slushies and hateful attitude still floated around in the back of her mind, sure, but something in Rachel snapped when she saw the blonde helpless sitting on the forest floor. She felt the need to take care of Quinn. It made up for accidentally killing her two goldfish when she was seven. She also felt the need to prove to Quinn (and maybe a little bit to herself) that she didn't need a mother to show her how to be compassionate and nurturing.

After the debacle with Shelby, Rachel's relationship with her dads was a strained. It was part of the reason why they decided on a two month vacation instead of a few weeks this summer. They needed time to regroup as a family, to get back to where they were before Shelby unexpectedly waltzed back into their lives. Rachel knew it was her fault. She felt beyond guilty and her therapist was working several hours a week trying to get her back to normal. Following that up with Jesse St. James…it was all incredibly overwhelming. Her dads had been there for her through it all and nurtured her and loved her despite her flaws. Rachel smiled a little as she smoothed out Quinn's blanket and thought about caring for the Cheerio, despite her flaws, just as her fathers had done for her.

"I believe we should begin planning our camping trip as soon as…Quinn?"

Quinn was smiling wide and her eyelids were drooping. Rachel giggled a little when the blonde started to drool a bit before she nodded off to sleep.

"She took another painkiller at dinner," Judy said as she came in from the kitchen.

Rachel nodded and patted Quinn on the top of the head before curling up in one of the big armchairs with her book. Soon enough her own bed was calling her, the events of the day finally catching up and taking their toll. She checked her text messages, there were three from Finn. All of them attempts at sexting.

_Rach im thinkin bout u….wearin that black cat suit thing. U kno what im talkin about.  
Baby im so hard rite now.  
Where r u? im rly turned on, i wanna talk._

Rachel rolled her eyes and sent Finn a quick text telling him she had a long day and was headed to bed. Just as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
Quinn woke the next morning, her brain a little fuzzy, to the sound of what sounded like power tools. Her first thought was to find out who was using a chainsaw in her bedroom. When she realized that she wasn't in her bedroom but the common room of the cabin it was even a little more confusing. The loud buzzing was coming from…the floor? Quinn looked down to see Rachel curled up on the rug between the couch and fireplace with a pillow and blanket, her mouth hanging open and the source of the chainsaw sound very apparent.

"Rachel?"

The response was a grunt and a few mumbles before Rachel rolled over and resumed snoring. It was slightly humorous; Rachel would probably die if she knew she snored like a bear. Quinn could picture it: Rachel would demand to see a sleep doctor immediately, even if it meant driving to Buffalo, and then insist on getting one of those machines for people with sleep apnea or whatever.

"Rachel, wake up."

Another grunt.

"Rachel, Barbra Streisand's on the phone. You were nominated for a Tony."

Quinn fully expected a comedic scene to take place with Rachel sitting bolt upright and being awake, just like what happened in the movies or books. Rachel's response wasn't nearly as dramatic but it was still a little comedic.

"Nominations were in May," Rachel mumbled. "Ceremony next week."

"There's a bear?"

"Mkay."

Quinn finally settled for throwing a pillow at the brunette. At that point, Rachel sat up and blinked a few times.

"Why am I in here?" Rachel asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know, I passed out."

"I went to bed. How did I get in here?"

"I don't know, Rachel!"

"Strange."

"Yeah."

It happened again the next night, too. Quinn woke up in the morning with Rachel curled up on the rug and the brunette woke up thoroughly confused looking as to why she was in the common room.

They planned the camping trip at every moment that Quinn was coherent and alert. There was a state park about an hour away with camping facilities and it was decided that was where they would go after Quinn's knee healed. For the remainder of the week, Quinn woke up to the sound of Rachel The Chainsaw. Rachel's dads just chuckled when it was brought up and said over dinner on the fourth morning that Rachel had a tendency to sleepwalk when she was younger. They weren't worried about it as long as the doors were locked.

Quinn thought it was a little…well, it was a little sweet. Rachel could've sleepwalked anywhere in the house but something brought her back to the rug in the common room each night. She stayed up one night and right around one in the morning was when Rachel walked in with her blanket and pillow. The brunette patted Quinn on the head before she curled up on the rug and started snoring.

It took a week after the accident before Quinn had a chance to sit with her mother and talk. And they did. It may have been a little bit drug induced but Quinn started spilling out about wanting a relationship and wishing she could talk to her mother and just _needing_ her. She didn't remember most of it, her brain was a little hazy, but she did remember bits and pieces.

"I just want us to be happy."

"I'm right here, sweetie," Judy said with a smile, her eyes filled with tears. "We'll be okay."

It hurt, but ten days after she busted her knee she was determined to go an entire day without crutches and minimal pain killers. Rachel was right there next to her when she walked anywhere. It was sweet and helpful until she attempted to accompany Quinn to the bathroom. The blonde drew the line there.

A slew of insults ran through her brain, all of them quite brilliant, but she didn't let a single one out of her mouth. She smiled and thanked Rachel for being so attentive but assured her that this was one task she could handle on her own.

Quinn assured the Berrys and her mother that the camping trip was definitely on after the day without crutches. It gave the go-ahead for Bruce and Michael to rent the equipment and start packing the SUV on a Thursday, ready to leave on Friday morning. Rachel was running around making lists and triple checking absolutely everything. Quinn honestly thought about drugging the short brunette but ultimately decided against it when Rachel found they hadn't packed matches or a lighter.

The night before they left, Quinn did something she never dared do before. When Rachel excused herself to her room after dinner, Quinn followed. She'd wanted to before then, sure, but she was a little immobile for a while. Besides, Rachel seemed content with being alone.

"Is there something you needed?" Rachel asked when Quinn knocked on the door frame.

Quinn shrugged. She honestly didn't know what she wanted other than to just…well…she wanted to be around Rachel. To hang out…to be friends.

"Quinn? Hello?"

"Sorry. If you're busy I'll leave you alone."

"I was just planning on reading a little. Is everything alright?"

It was now or never. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."

Quinn couldn't help but smile when Rachel's face lit up and she set her book down. Taking Rachel moving over on her bed and patting the space next to her as a sign to come in, Quinn took the space on the bed next to Rachel. She picked up Rachel's book to move it but when Rachel lunged out to grab it, Quinn reached further away.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh…" Rachel blushed, "I just…it's not my book. I found it on one of the sh-shelves out there."

Quinn looked at the cover, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and flipped open to one of the pages. As she skimmed over the page she felt a blush rise to her cheeks and a grin spread across her lips. She had to try and scramble away as Rachel practically climbed on top of her to pry the book from her hands. Deciding to have a little fun, Quinn started reading aloud.

"'For a moment he was still inside her, turgid there and quivering. Then as he began to move, in the sudden helpless orgasm, there awoke in her new strange thrills rippling inside her. Rippling, rippling, rippling, like a flapping overlapping of soft flames, soft as feathers, running to points of brilliance, exquisite and melting her all molten inside.' Oh my God, Berry, what the hell are you reading?"

"I didn't know! I just…I started reading and it…" Rachel whined and finally pulled back. She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. It was difficult for Quinn to stifle her laughter at the brunette's pout because, well, Rachel looked a little _cute_. Except…no. That wasn't right. Quinn wasn't supposed to find Rachel's flushed cheeks and pouty lips desirable in the least. She shook her head and shut the book. That had to have been it, the book.

"I didn't know you liked to read smut."

"I don-Well, I mean…it's very well-written and not really trashy or vulgar as some."

"So you read a lot of porn?"

Rachel's blush deepened. "Is this some cruel joke?" she mumbled. "Get Rachel to admit something embarrassing and then spread it around?"

Quinn had no response to that. It wasn't her motivation, of course, she was genuinely going to try and be friendlier with Rachel. After all, the girl had taken care of her over the last week and a half. Quinn considered Rachel not just an acquaintance anymore but a friend. However, understandably, Rachel appeared hesitant.

"Maybe a couple weeks ago," Quinn finally said. Rachel's eyes flickered up to meet her own. "Look, Rachel, I just…I want to be friends, alright? We're going to be here for a while and we might as well."

"If you weren't stuck here you'd still hate me, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah."

Rachel nodded a little. "And once you resume your position on the Cheerios, things will go back to the way they were."

Quinn shrugged. She really didn't know. Yeah, she'd have to go back to being a bitch but there was a chance that if things worked out with Rachel that she might show the girl a little friendliness even in the halls of McKinley.

"It'd be nice to have a friend," Rachel said softly.

Quinn waited for the follow up of, "here for the summer" but it never came. She tossed Rachel's book onto the bed and smirked. "Well, don't worry," she said, "your secret love of porn is safe with me."

Rachel rolled her eyes and giggled. A silence fell over the pair and Quinn tried to think of something, anything, to say but Rachel's phone saved her from it.

"It's Finn," Rachel sighed. "He's attempting to…well…you don't want to know."

"Let me guess," Quinn chuckled, "'baby, you make me so horny'?"

Rachel nodded. Quinn shuddered a little. Finn had tried the same things with her and it just didn't work. She wasn't turned on by him in the slightest. Of course, if she was honest with herself, she wasn't turned on by any guy in the slightest. (Yes, she was fully aware she'd had a baby but there was alcohol involved in that and she was a lightweight.) The Cheerios, on the other hand…But that thought was always shoved out of her mind and replaced with more pleasant thoughts. Like…running laps around the track or getting a paper cut. Because Quinn Fabray could have any guy she wanted and that's what was expected.

"How do I get him to stop?"

"You break up with him," Quinn blurted out. There wasn't any viciousness in her voice but she really didn't mean to say it that quickly. It was, however, the truth.

Rachel sighed. "For now, I simply ignore it." She tossed her phone in her nightstand drawer and smiled her famous Rachel Berry smile and Quinn most definitely couldn't shove the realization that her heart sped up a bit out of her head.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was quite possibly the most unexpected thing Rachel had ever experienced when Quinn knocked on her bedroom door. It was awkward at first, especially when Quinn got a hold of her book. Actually that part was incredibly humiliating. She swore her secrecy, though, and Rachel felt a little better. Quinn hadn't ever actually broken a promise to her. She was always brutally honest, even if it was negative but she was honest nonetheless. Could Rachel trust her? Only time would tell.

After the awkwardness and the just plain unintelligent sounding text from Finn (_babe, wish u were here. so horny rn._) things seemed to flow a little more smoothly. They talked for a little bit about school and glee club and the weather. Quinn had noticed Rachel's DVDs she'd bought and suggested they watch something. They settled close together on Rachel's twin bed to watch _The Mask of Zorro_.

The next morning, the morning they were to leave to drive to the camp ground, Rachel woke up unable to move one side of her body. Her brain's first thought was that she was paralyzed and her chances at stardom were ruined but then she found that the reason she was unable to move was because Quinn was practically lying on top of her. Rachel smiled a little. It wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, she couldn't feel her left arm and her left leg was tangled at an awkward angle with the blonde's, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable either.

Rachel jumped a little when her bedroom door opened quietly; Michael stepped inside and quirked an eyebrow at the position in which he'd found his daughter and his daughter's new friend.

"Time to get up," he said a little loudly.

Quinn stirred and Rachel immediately shushed her father.

"I'll wake her up, Dad."

"I'm sure you will," he said with a grin.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "She's my _friend_ and I don't want her startled and falling off the bed. She could potentially re-injure her knee."

"Of course, sweetie. Breakfast in fifteen minutes then we're loading up."

Rachel nodded and waited until her door was shut again before gently rubbing Quinn's shoulder. The blonde stirred and groaned before gripping a little tighter to Rachel's waist.

"Quinn, you have to get up. Breakfast in fifteen minutes."

"Five more minutes," the blonde mumbled.

"I can't feel my arm."

Quinn's eyes fluttered open and Rachel smiled a little as sleepy hazel eyes connected with her own. This moment, whatever it was, had a hint of something. Rachel could feel her sixth sense screaming at her but it was drowned out by the sound of Quinn's sleepy voice and her (very, very captivating) eyes.

"When did I fall asleep?"

"In the middle of _A Walk to Remember_."

"Oh. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I was rather tired, myself. I…I couldn't."

Quinn nodded. It wasn't until the blonde moved to sit up that Rachel realized she'd been holding onto her shoulder the entire time, tracing patterns on the pale skin. She grimaced at the tingling sensation in her other arm when Quinn sat up and the blood rushed backed to her extremity.

After a quick breakfast of whatever they could find, the Fabrays and the Berrys loaded up the Berry SUV with the remainder of their things, and headed to the campground. Rachel felt awkward sitting between the two blondes but she was the smallest and therefore the only one that could sit comfortably in the middle seat. The drive to the camp ground that the man at the supply store had suggested was an hour and Quinn managed to fall asleep, her head landed on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel, slightly drowsy herself, leaned her head on top of Quinn's and relaxed a little. The scent of mixed berry from Quinn's body spray made her smile a little.

Once at the campsite, Rachel was in awe at Quinn's direction. The blonde started setting up tents like a pro and tying bags for trash to tree branches; she glanced around the space a few times before strategically placing lanterns to give them plenty of light when nightfall came.

"Quinn…you're a very…well, I never took you for an outdoor girl of this caliber," Rachel said as Quinn meticulously placed wood (Rachel's dads had started piling it up while Quinn was setting up tents) in the fire pit, followed by the straw and shredded newspaper that came with the starter kit that Bruce had picked up.

"Cheerios training," Quinn said as she struck a match. "Freshman year Sylvester dropped all of us off just outside of Columbus with three tents, a newspaper, a box of matches, a Swiss army knife, what we packed for what was supposed to be a spa weekend, a ten pound sack of rice, and then wished us luck."

Rachel blinked. "That's insane. You had money, didn't you?"

"She went through our stuff and took our wallets." Quinn smiled when the larger pieces of wood started catching fire. "It took a week get back to Lima; we had to learn quickly."

"A week?"

"Brittany was the navigator."

Rachel nodded. "Right. So you survived a week walking from Columbus to Lima but you were unable to run through the woods without falling?"

"Shut up, Berry," Quinn chuckled. "One of the seniors was a CNA; she handled the first-aid."

Lunch was simple: pre-packed sandwiches and chips. The Berry men took the water jugs to a spigot to fill while Rachel, Quinn, and Judy finished setting up camp. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows when they took out the air mattresses and counted only three - two doubles and a single.

"They gave us the wrong ones," Michael groaned when they got back. "I told them three singles and a double."

Rachel thought briefly about offering to share with Quinn, the memory of waking up that morning still lingering in her brain. It was…comfortable. It was nice. It was something she could totally see happening repeatedly…Except _not_. Rachel shook her head. This was Quinn Fabray she was thinking about. The Cheerio that would go right back to torturing her the second they got back to Lima. Quinn Fabray, the girl who had tortured her since the sixth grade. Quinn Fabray, the girl with an insanely hot body, captivating eyes, and really nice legs in the shorts she was currently wearing…Rachel shook her head again. This wasn't happening. Clearly, she'd spent too much time away from Finn. That was it. Finn Hudson the quarterback, the handsome male lead, not the brightest crayon in the box…and a typical sex-crazed teenage boy.

The five of them stared at the mattresses until Quinn spoke up.  
"I'll sleep on the ground, no big deal."

"No!" Rachel turned bright red as all eyes turned to her after she shrieked. "Y-your knee," she stuttered. "I don't think it would be conducive to the continued healing of your knee if you were to sleep on the ground, Quinn."

"My knee is fine, Rachel. Trust me, I've slept on the bleachers at school, this won't be half as bad."

"The blea-"

"Cheerios."

Rachel shook her head. "That woman is insane."

"Quinn and I could share the other double," Judy said. "It's only for two nights."

"Mom that's…I don't know."

"I wouldn't mind sharing if Quinn's alright with it." Rachel smiled innocently. Quinn shrugged.

"If you won't let me sleep on the ground then there's nothing else I can do."

Rachel nodded and grabbed onto the double mattress, moving it into the larger tent with the single. The smile never let her face.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
It took a couple of seconds for Quinn to register what had just happened after Rachel dragged the double mattress into the tent they would be sharing with her mother. She took a few deep breaths and try to compose herself and shake any trace of any impure thought out of her head. It would be no different than sharing with Santana or Brittany or any of her other friends. Except she never found herself practically on top of them in the morning. They'd be in a bigger bed, though, so the chances of that happening again were very, very slim. They set up the air mattress and helped Quinn's mother with hers. Rachel made sure there were a couple of flashlights at the tent door on their way out.

"There's a couple of hours before dinner," Michael said when Quinn and Rachel emerged from their tent. "The lake isn't that far, you girls could go swimming."

Quinn shrugged. "Sounds good to me." She looked over at Rachel who looked rather eager and the pair went back into the tent to change.

Quinn set up the barrier in the two-room tent to change and quickly slipped on her one-piece (she still wasn't comfortable in a two-piece and wouldn't be until she was a Cheerio again) and a pair of shorts. When she bent down to pick up her clothes she realized the barrier had gaps around the edges and there was an almost perfect view into the other side of the tent. Rachel's bare back was to her, tan skin moving with muscles as she slipped on the top of a bikini and reached around to tie it. It was wrong, so wrong, to look. Rachel was her _friend_. And a _girl_. This couldn't be happening, it wasn't happening. Except that it was.

Quinn licked her lips as she watched the twitches and the flexes and Rachel's dexterous fingers tie the knots. The brunette had obviously already changed into the bikini bottoms and sinfully short shorts and when she bent over Quinn's mouth went dry. The moment was cut short, though, when her phone beeped signaling a text message.

"Shit," Quinn mumbled.

_hows the hell hole? -s_

Quinn took another quick peak through the gap before responding.

_not as bad as i thought itd be_

_meet n e hot guys?_

_does it matter?_

_fine, hot girls?_

_shut up._

_come on, like u dont look in the shower. i kno u check me out, fabray. spill it._

"Quinn, are you ready?"

Quinn snapped her head up from the phone screen, almost having forgotten exactly why she was in a swimsuit. "Yeah…yeah, I'm ready. Just texting Santana."

Rachel took down the barrier and stepped into Quinn's half of the tent, now with a t-shirt on over her bikini top. Quinn smiled a little but didn't miss the worried look on Rachel's face.

"How's Santana?"

"Nosy, as always."

"Does she…I mean…" Rachel bit her lower lip. "Does she know I'm here?"

Quinn shook her head. In the first few days she'd thought about it. She'd thought about texting or calling her friends to bitch about the fact that Rachel was there invading her summer but she hadn't. She knew she'd be bombarded and teased relentlessly; and in the first few days she might've gone along and enjoyed it. Now she knew now that she wouldn't be able to stand it and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it, either.

"You didn't tell anyone?"

"It's not because…"

"I didn't, either. Well…I doubt Finn would've cared. The only thing he's asked me thus far is if cheating counts if it's done in a different area code."

Quinn's jaw actually dropped at that. She knew Finn wasn't bright but that was kind of beyond unintelligent. "What an ass! You deserve better than that, you know?"

The look on Rachel's face was hard to describe and Quinn swore she saw the beginnings of tears before Rachel smiled.

"He's a teenage boy," Rachel sighed. "I don't expect much."

"He's been hanging out with Puck too much."

"That, too."

After a few seconds of silence, Quinn scrambled out the tent door and slipped on her shoes. Rachel followed close behind. It was only about a five minute walk to the lake; they found a short dock leading out onto the water. Quinn spread out her towel, Rachel followed suit and then stripped off her t-shirt. The sight of toned abs and tanned skin made Quinn's mouth water and a small whimper escape. She wasn't even going to deny it anymore. She _couldn't_, not with Rachel standing right there looking like _that_. Rachel Berry was hot. And Quinn Fabray kind of had a crush on her.

"Something the matter, Quinn?"

Quinn blinked a few times, her gaze going back up to Rachel's face. The brunette's look was something in the general area of smug.

"M-my knee. Just a little sore."

Rachel nodded. "Well, water therapy is very helpful."

"Yeah."

Quinn watched closely and with much interest as Rachel turned and headed down the ladder into the lake. As soon as the water hit her mid calf, the brunette shrieked.

"Cold! So cold!"

"Oh come on, Berry, it can't be that bad."

Rachel shook her head. "No, no, no. It's _freezing_!"

Quinn rolled her eyes as Rachel gripped onto the ladder and shook a little. Determined to show up the brunette (and maybe show off just a bit) she jumped off the dock and into the water. When she stood the water hit her shoulders and her feet were on solid ground and _fuck_, Rachel was right. The water was absolutely freezing.

"Oh shit!"

"I told you!"

Determined to not be the only one tortured, Quinn smirked and waded toward Rachel. Just as the brunette moved to step up Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and pulled. She fell back into the water, completely submerged, but knew it would be worth it when she surfaced. Rachel was shrieking and flailing and swearing when Quinn finally came up for air.

"Quinn! What the h-hell? That was uncalled for!"

Quinn only smiled and splashed a little water in Rachel's direction getting her another squeal.

"I w-wasn't going to be the only one f-freezing my ass off!"

"That reasoning isn't anywhere near logical."

Rachel splashed water back at Quinn prompting a very, very cold water fight. Rachel was squealing and laughing, Quinn wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders to try and dunk her but the short brunette was surprisingly strong and managed to reverse their positions to dunk Quinn. When the blonde came up for air she held onto Rachel's shoulders to steady herself and her skin immediately started to warm when Rachel returned the embrace.

"Are y-you alright?" Rachel asked with a grin.

Quinn nodded. She noticed Rachel trembling against her and that her own arms were covered in goosebumps. When she shivered, however, it wasn't from the cold. Rachel had pulled her in a little closer, her fingertips had grazed a line up the curve of Quinn's spine.

"W-we should get out to av-void hypothermia."

Quinn nodded again but didn't let go and neither did Rachel. The brunette's fingertips only gripped a little tighter and she moved a little closer and Quinn's heart raced a little faster.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rachel wasn't oblivious. She also wasn't entirely innocent. She knew what she was doing when she stripped off her t-shirt on the dock and she knew that Quinn's eyes were on her when she did. She also knew that Quinn was watching and practically drooling over her when they changed in the tent. The question on the brunette's mind, though, is exactly _why_ she now felt the need to show off a little to her new-found friend. Things were moving at an extremely fast pace, Rachel thought. It had only been two weeks since they began their friendship and now…well now, Quinn was ogling her and Rachel was showing off in order for Quinn to stare more. Could it be that she was actually crushing on her friend? It was entirely implausible. But it was happening.

When Quinn gripped onto her shoulders after having been dunked in the lake, Rachel reacted not to show off but just…by complete instinct. She wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist and ran her fingers up the blonde's spine. After the few short words about getting out of the lake and neither one moving she gripped a little tighter; noticing Quinn beginning to tremble in her arms. Rachel made the first move, leaning in just a bit, but it was Quinn who almost closed the gap. Apparently it was also the least perfect time for Rachel's conscience to kick in, remembering she had a boyfriend (however unintelligent and annoying he was) waiting for her in Lima.

"Quinn…what are we doing?" Rachel whispered. The blonde's lips were so close to her own that she could almost taste her lipgloss.

"I don't know." Quinn brought her hand up to cup the back of Rachel's neck and threaded her fingers through dark brown locks and causing the brunette to shiver.

"T-this is too fast."

Unable to look the blonde in the eye anymore, Rachel pulled out of the embrace and swam toward the dock ladder. She glanced over her shoulder at the rejected blonde who followed close behind and tried to figure out exactly what to say to make the situation any less awkward. Nothing came to mind. Rachel dropped to the dock's edge, her feet coming a few inches above the water, and Quinn sat next to her with plenty of space between them.

"Quinn, this is crazy."

"I know," Quinn whispered.

"Two weeks ago…"

"I _know_, Rachel!"

"We need to talk about this. It's obvious that this short time together has sparked something in each of us that can only be described as lust or perhaps the beginnings of something more, I'm not entirely sure, but because of our continuing close proximity this isn't something that can be ignored."

"Trust me, it can be." With that Quinn got up off the dock, grabbed her towel, and began walking back to the campsite.

"What if I don't want to ignore it?" Rachel's question was barely a whisper but she heard Quinn stop and take a few deep breaths before continuing on.

Rachel sat on the dock for a few minutes longer with her mind absolutely blank until a cool breeze made her shiver and decide to go back to the campsite to warm by the fire. She slipped her t-shirt on and wrapped the towel around her shoulders to head back where she was met with small smiles from her fathers and a glance from Quinn. The blonde had already changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and was sitting next to the fire, poking it with a stick. Knowing it wasn't the time to discuss anything, Rachel headed into the tent.

Changed and dry, Rachel pulled a chair up on the other side of the fire from Quinn and watched the blonde's eyebrows furrow every now and then. Quinn was probably thinking of the same things she was. Well, actually, there was only one question on Rachel's mind: How in the hell did this happen? In a span of three weeks she'd gone from being Quinn's worst enemy to caretaker, to friend, to crushing on her. It made absolutely no sense. Things were moving entirely too quickly. Rachel took a deep breath and decided that she would simply have to take a step back and re-evaluate. Maybe Quinn had been right, maybe she could just ignore it.

The atmosphere was a little tense and quiet without the pair chattering away over a dinner of hotdogs (tofu dogs they'd miraculously found for Rachel), store-bought macaroni salad, and chips. Rachel knew her dads noticed and Judy probably had as well but none of them said anything. They had their own conversation going on and at one point Rachel honestly felt sorry for Quinn because Judy still hadn't figured out that Rachel's dads were practically the opposite of stereotypical gay men.

"I intend on getting back into the dating game soon," Judy said with a smile. "I plan on getting a whole new wardrobe as soon as possible. Oh! Perhaps you two could help me out?"

Bruce choked a little on his bite of hot dog; Michael patted him on the back a few times until he swallowed. Quinn groaned and shook her head.

"Judy, we don't…I don't know the first thing about clothes," Michael said. "I wear a state mandated uniform at work."

"My wardrobe consists mostly of jeans and shirts with Lima Lumber printed on them," Bruce added. "I really can't help you."

"Oh," Judy sighed. "Well…what is it you do like to do?"

"We play basketball in the winter," Bruce offered. "There's an adult league, Lima Lumber always has a team."

"I play poker on Wednesday nights."

Rachel tuned out the rest of the conversation, instead choosing to look over at the blonde across the picnic table who was poking at her macaroni salad. Flashes of that morning went through her mind and she had to fight a smile and a blush at the thought of waking up with Quinn in her arms and that look…that spark…that _something_. She ducked her head back down to finish her dinner, tried her best to go back to ignoring everything, and sighed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What if I don't want to ignore it?" Rachel had whispered.

Quinn stopped dead in her tracks and wanted to turn around but she couldn't. What had just happened was quite possibly one of the most terrifying moments of her life. It came only after finding out she was pregnant. She'd almost kissed Rachel Berry. And, unlike getting pregnant, she wasn't feeling any regret about it. And that? That is what terrified her the most. Three weeks ago she hated Rachel Berry with every fiber of her being. Three weeks ago she wanted to torture the brunette into oblivion. Three minutes ago she wanted nothing more than to attach her lips to Rachel's.

When she returned to camp and changed into sweats, Quinn curled up in a chair by the fire pit and poked at it with a stick while she contemplated the question throbbing in her brain. How the hell did this happen? These things don't happen, they just don't. Except to Quinn. Why does all of this shit have to happen to her? Why did _she_ have to get knocked up and why does _she_ have to start having feelings for her former enemy?

When the two families turned in for bed it hit Quinn again that she now had to share a bed with Rachel. Rachel, who she had been a split second away from kissing a few hours before. She lay down on the air mattress, as close to an edge as she could get, and waited as Rachel said goodnight to her fathers. She saw Rachel's flashlight head back to the tent and the front flap zip shut. Rachel said goodnight to Judy, residing in the left side of the tent and Quinn rolled over to face away when Rachel knelt down to crawl into bed. Just as the brunette settled in, Quinn's phone went off.

"Sorry," Quinn mumbled as she reached for the light. She opened the text message and had to read over it three times before she actually believed what she was looking at.

_u will never guess who showed up my house beggin for it. Treasure trails idiot bf. So funny. -s_

Quinn covered her eyes and massaged her temples. "Shit," she accidentally hissed out loud.

"Something the matter?"

"I don't know. Santana…you know."

Rachel hummed a response and stilled. Quinn turned her attention back to her phone.

_Did u do it?_

_Hell yea we did. lol he got pissed again after. boy needs 2 figure out what he wants._

_Again?_

_I took his vcard like a few months ago or whatever and he got trashed a few wks ago & we did it then 2 lol_

_Do you not have any morals, s?_

_I have needs blondie. U do 2 ur just so repressed that u dont kno it._

_Ur sick. I'm goin to bed. Night._

Quinn sighed and tossed her phone back on the ground next to the air mattress.

"R-Rachel?"

Quinn was only met with a deep snore. She read the texts once more, hoping she was dreaming the whole thing. She wasn't. The shit was going to hit the fan at some point, she knew, and because of that she also knew she needed to get back on speaking terms with Rachel before it did. There had to be _someone_ there when things fell apart. Quinn knew all too well what it was like to feel absolutely alone in a situation where you needed someone the most. The plan on how to get back to friends would have to wait because of the beginning of a headache starting behind her eyes signaled that it was past time to sleep. She pulled her sleeping bag a little tighter around herself and drifted off thinking of all the different ways she could murder Finn Hudson.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**  
The Berrys and Fabrays were up early the next morning for a quick breakfast of bagels and orange juice before they set out to explore the camping area. When Judy inquired as to why it sounded like a hungry bear was in the tent Quinn choked on her bagel and Rachel just looked at the pair, completely confused. She had no recollection of any sound of anything that sounded like a hungry bear. When Quinn quietly whispered to her mother that Rachel snored, the diva let out an offended squeak and was prepared to launch into a full-on rant about how she most definitely did _not_ snore…until her fathers intervened and said they both needed earplugs at night before they sound-proofed Rachel's room.

Even though the pair wasn't really speaking beyond polite "thank you"s and "you're welcome"s, Rachel made sure to pack extra ace-wraps, ice packs, and painkillers in her backpack just in case. The five headed out of the campsite after reassurance from Quinn that she would be fine for the hike and made their way to one of the various trails. Rachel followed behind the three adults and Quinn followed behind her through the winding trail they'd chosen.

Rachel had fallen asleep as Quinn was texting away to Santana, knowing there was no way it was about her. It couldn't have been since the Latina had no idea that Quinn and Rachel were even in the same state. She could hear Quinn behind her as the blonde's footsteps sped up and she was suddenly next to Rachel, watching the ground as she walked.

"Hey," the blonde mumbled.

"Good morning, Quinn."

"Look," Quinn glanced up ahead to the three adults, "can we try the friends thing again?"

Rachel nodded. "I'd like that very much. About yesterday…"

"You're with Finn," Quinn cut her off. "He's an ass and an idiot but you're with him and that's it."

Rachel nodded. She knew Quinn was right. They walked together for the rest of the day, stopping for lunch and to ice Quinn's knee for a while. Rachel checked her phone during lunch to see a few texts from Finn and she hesitantly opened them, expecting plenty of "dirty" messages.

_Love u. (Sent 11:53pm)  
Thinkin about u. (Sent 8:03am)  
Rly wish u were here. (Sent 8:45am)_

Rachel arched an eyebrow at the uncharacteristically sweet messages from her boyfriend. She should've been happy about it but something tingled her spine and said she should probably be a little disturbed. It didn't bother her like it should have that she didn't really want to respond. She tossed her phone back in her bag and sat down next to Quinn, shivering a bit when their bare arms brushed together.

"Finn?"

Rachel nodded. "Uncharacteristically sweet messages."

"Huh."

"It disturbs me a little. Don't feel as though you need to answer but when he was suddenly and especially nice to you was there…anything going on?"

Quinn's answer almost made Rachel's heart stop; partially in guilt and partially in confirmation.

"Only when he cheated on me."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Quinn wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders and gave a light squeeze. Rachel sighed and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. Even though she almost didn't care about the entire situation, she couldn't help but wonder who it was. Who Finn would cheat on her with. She felt a bit like she deserved it; after all, she had been the one Finn had kissed (more than once) when he was dating Quinn and supposedly the father of her child. In all fairness, though, Quinn had also cheated. There was so much drama, so much infidelity, so much chaos.

"This is giving me a headache," Rachel mumbled.

"You want some Tylenol?"

"I want," Rachel paused and glanced up at Quinn, "the drama to stop."

She'd almost said it. She'd almost said out loud, "I want you" but the filter between her brain and mouth had taken that moment to kick in (probably for the first time in her life, she thought).

"Me, too."

Rachel wished that Quinn's response came because the blonde could read minds.

The rest of the day was a blur. Rachel's mind was running about a million miles a minute. It was no longer a question of if she broke up with Finn, but when. Her mind wandered back to the question he'd asked at the beginning of the summer and she could only speculate until it was confirmed, innocent until proven guilty, but she should've seen it. And beyond that, she was going to be spending the rest of the summer with Quinn. Quinn. The very thought of the blonde made her cheeks turn rosy and the smallest of a smile appear on her lips.

When they got back to the campsite, they collectively decided to play a few rounds of poker to pass the time until dinner. Rachel insisted on icing Quinn's knee yet again because the blonde had whimpered as soon as she sat down and started rubbing her knee. For dinner they each constructed their own out of fresh vegetables and meat (for everyone except Rachel, of course) they had kept in the cooler. They made their own foil packets and tossed them in the coals of the fire and played a few more rounds of poker.

Rachel again forwent her vegan diet to indulge in S'mores. For a while, at least, she forgot about the drama and instead she sat with Quinn next to the fire and giggled and talked with her dads and Judy.

"The berry patch opens next week, I think," Michael said, staring down at his toasting marshmallow. "It looks fun."

Rachel nodded. "I'd like that."

"Sounds like fun," Quinn said with a smile. "I love a good berry." She nudged the brunette next to her and Rachel broke out into a fit of giggles that suddenly turned into shrieks of terror when her marshmallow caught fire. Quinn grabbed the stick out of her hand and started blowing out the fire, leaving behind a gooey mess.

"I'm not eating that," Rachel said, eyebrow arched at the charred marshmallow.

"Oh come on, it's better this way."

"I might as well just eat burned wood, Quinn."

Rachel watched as Quinn rolled her eyes and scooped half of the charred marshmallow off the stick and licked it off of her fingers. She shifted a little when Quinn continued sucking the goo off of her fingers.

"Just try it," Quinn said, nudging the brunette.

Rachel nodded absentmindedly and scooped up the rest of the burned marshmallow and licked it from her fingers. The ash taste was a little weird but she had to admit, it wasn't bad. It would take some getting used to but it could work.

After a fit of giggles following one of her daddy's lame jokes, Rachel's laughter was cut short by the familiar sound of "Defying Gravity" blaring from her phone. She knew who was calling her and she also knew it was time to face whatever was going to come. She quietly excused herself from the campfire, Quinn patted her shoulder as she got up, and she zipped herself up in the tent before answering her phone.

"Hi, Finn."

"Hey baby, I haven't heard from you. I miss you."

"I'm sure you do."

"So I was totally on like level fifty last night, right? And then Puck…"

Rachel sighed. It was now or never. "I think it would be best if we discontinued seeing each other."

There was silence before Finn growled.

"What, did you meet some guy up there? You cheat on me or something?"

"I have not cheated on you. What about you? What was it you asked me? The one about separate area codes?"

"That…that was just a…a question!"

"Did you or did you not cheat on me?"

"I can explain, okay? I…there was this party…"

Rachel shook her head. "It's over. Have a nice summer with whomever you've found more attractive than the idea of monogamy and fidelity, Finn."

"Rach-"

"Goodnight."

Rachel shut her phone and dried the rogue tears out of her eyes that had managed to escape during the exchange. She kept thinking that she was ready for this, she didn't care, she didn't want Finn anymore…but the heartbreak, no matter what Rachel had previously thought, hurt. She took a few minutes to compose herself before exiting the tent and returning to the campfire. She roasted another marshmallow and shared a s'more with Quinn and the pair sang a few songs together at Judy's request. Rachel knew her performance was sub-par because of the lack of warm-ups and the fact that her heart wasn't in it but being the star she was, she never missed an opportunity for performance.

When the campfire started to die down the five turned into bed. Rachel took her time getting dressed on purpose and waited until she was certain that Quinn and Judy were asleep before heading back outside with her blanket and sitting in front of the campfire. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them and stared at the flames until another body joined her and wrapped a sleeping bag around her shoulders then sat and pulled the brunette in close.

"Hey," Rachel whispered softly.

"Hey."

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn wasn't intentionally trying to get Rachel to break up with Finn. She just knew that the diva would be better off without him. Hell, he'd cheated on Rachel _twice_. She ignored the screaming hypocrite side of herself that said she'd cheated on Finn and didn't deserve Rachel, either. She did know, though, that whether or not Rachel chose her over Finn that she was going to be there to pick up the pieces and she was going to be Rachel's friend.

When Rachel started talking about the unexpected messages from Finn, Quinn would've known why even if Santana hadn't told her about it. They were seen by a drama-loving Cheerio freshman going into the auditorium together and Finn was seen leaving alone with _that look_ on his face. An hour after Quinn got a few texts from Finn telling her that he loved her.

The only thing Quinn could think of to do (that would be appropriate, that is) to comfort her friends was to wrap an arm around Rachel's shoulders and silently let her know she was going to be there. When Rachel paused after, "I want" and caught Quinn's gaze momentarily she momentarily thought she knew what Rachel would finish the sentence with. She was wrong…but her response wasn't to what Rachel said, it was to what Quinn wanted her to say.

The remainder of the hike was a little painful, Quinn's knee would throb if she'd step or twist wrong. Rachel was a little off in her own little world, Quinn understood. They both needed a little time to think for different reasons. Rachel kept playing caretaker when they got back to camp and during the poker game. Quinn just smiled and rolled her eyes playfully and let Rachel do what she wanted. It was pretty adorable, the blonde had to admit.

Rachel's laugh…they were sitting by the fire and Rachel was genuinely laughing and it was one of the greatest sounds Quinn had ever heard. Almost better than Rachel singing, which also happened thanks to Quinn's mother. There were s'mores and laughing and Bruce's lame jokes and then…then Rachel's phone rang. When Rachel emerged from the tent she was a little quieter and sat a little closer to Quinn than before and the blonde had to seriously fight off the urge to gather up her friend in her arms and tell her everything would be okay. She and her mother had just reconciled all of their previous problems, adding on top of that Quinn's crush on her friend and it would be insane. Quinn could almost hear the conversation that Judy would strike up with Bruce and Michael about that.

Quinn was exhausted, her knee hurt, and she could've really used a good night's rest. However, when Rachel snuck out of the tent, all of Quinn's needs went away. She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her sleeping bag, following Rachel close behind. She watched for a few minutes as Rachel stared at the flames; the flickering light was illuminating Rachel in a way that made the girl look like she was glowing. The bright orange bounced off of her shimmering hair and Quinn smiled a little as she quietly made her way to the campfire. She draped the open sleeping bag around Rachel's shoulders and moved to sit next to her.

"Hey," Rachel whispered.

"Hey."

Quinn wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulders and pulled her in close to her side. Rachel immediately settled her head on Quinn's shoulder and scooted herself as close to the blonde as she could quite possibly get without being on top of her. Quinn stared at the flames for a while, the crackles and sparks mesmerizing her.

"I'm not an easy person to love, I suppose," Rachel said with a sigh. "I will admit I'm high maintenance and sometimes I do things in my best interest without thinking of others…but why do they always have to hurt me?"

"I'm so sorry, Rachel."

"My dads are the only ones that haven't hurt me…and I've hurt them. It's like…everything I touch falls apart."

"I understand," Quinn said with a slight nod. She felt Rachel's head shift and she could feel the girl's eyes on her. Quinn took a shallow breath and turned to face the brunette; Rachel's eyes were glossed over with fresh tears, one of which spilled over. Quinn didn't even know what she was doing until she saw her own hand come up to wipe away the escaped droplet of water.

"I guess the best I can hope for is someone to pick up the pieces."

"Or someone that won't break," Quinn tucked a loose strand of hair back from Rachel's face, "someone who won't break you."

Much to Quinn's dismay, Rachel turned her head back to the fire and resumed her original position with her head on the blonde's shoulder. They sat until the fire dwindled down to almost nothing and Rachel started nodding off a little. Quinn tugged her up and pulled her back to the tent, going in as quietly as possible, and settling into bed. Rachel immediately turned with her back to Quinn and the blonde cautiously reached out and placed a hand on Rachel's waist. When there was no response Quinn moved a little closer leaving barely any space. The response then was slightly unexpected; Rachel scooted back to close the gap, grabbed Quinn's hand, and wrapped it snuggly around her ending up with the blonde's hand pressed against her chest. In no time the loud buzzing of Rachel's snores was disturbing the peaceful nature of the outdoors and Quinn fell asleep with a small smile on her face, the feeling of Rachel's heart beating steadily against the palm of her hand.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I'm not happy with this chapter at all. It sucks and I know it but I'm sick of trying to fix it. Soooo yeah. Be gentle =P

* * *

**Chapter 7**  
It fit. It fit perfectly. Rachel snuggled back into Quinn and tugged the blonde's arm to hold against her chest and it _fit_. It wasn't awkward with a too big body with rough hands; it was perfect and Quinn's hands were soft and sized perfectly. She fell asleep quickly and slept soundly, waking up only when the sun was shining and still with Quinn's front pressed against her back and the blonde's hand still hugged against her chest.

Rachel rolled over and watched Quinn sleep for a few minutes before the blonde's eyes fluttered open and she immediately smiled.

"Good morning," Rachel whispered.

"You okay?"

Rachel nodded. She was really okay, more than okay after having woken up still being held safely in Quinn's arms. The look of concern on Quinn's face was a bit adorable; Rachel nodded again to reassure her.

"Did you sleep okay?"

Rachel couldn't help but grin and duck her head a little. "I slept wonderfully, thank you."

"Me, too."

Quinn's fingers trailed down Rachel's neck causing her to shiver a bit. Rachel let her eyes close for a moment to savor the sensation; when she re-opened them, Quinn was smiling.

The conversation with Quinn the night before was still echoing through her head. She was scared, of course, that if whatever this _thing_ was between her and Quinn were to blossom into a full-fledged relationship there was no guarantee that one wouldn't hurt the other. Yes, Quinn had made a promise in a round-about way that she wouldn't break the diva but there was no way of knowing what the future held. Half of Rachel's brain (and the shattered pieces of her heart) was yelling at her to stay guarded, stay safe, stay _away_ from Quinn and that it was all still too fast; the other half (and the rest of her heart) was telling her to go for it because there might not be many more chances in the short time they had left of summer.

The part that told her to go for it won. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Quinn had the same idea and when Rachel leaned in to kiss the blonde their foreheads collided and they both yelled and rolled back in pain. The groans of pain turned into giggles and Rachel's hand eventually found Quinn's. Fingers interlaced and Rachel smiled at the feeling of Quinn's thumb stroking her hand.

"Girls, is everything alright?" Judy asked sleepily from the other side of the tent.

Rachel turned her head to the blonde next to her and smiled. "Everything is fine, Judy. Good morning!"

"Ladies," Michael called from outside the tent, "we need to get going, the park overseers just came by and said the forecast is calling for storms."

There was no time to think or talk or anything; Rachel and Quinn both scrambled out of bed and started packing their things as quickly as possible. Rachel knew that at one point she grabbed one of Quinn's shirts but she didn't really care. They hastily rolled up their sleeping bags and deflated the air mattress. A rumble of thunder made them move even quicker, Quinn took down the tent in a matter of seconds after the mattresses were packed away. They managed to pack up the entire campsite in about fifteen minutes and just in time for it to start pouring just as Quinn shut the rear driver's side door on the Berry SUV.

"Well," Bruce said as they pulled out onto the highway, "I hope everyone had fun aside from the sudden downpour."

"It was wonderful," Judy said. "I haven't been camping in years!"

"It was fun, Daddy," Rachel said with a smile. She glanced over at Quinn and locked eyes with the blonde momentarily. "Definitely an experience."

The storm seemed to stretch on for miles and it was even still raining when they got back to the cabin. At one point, Rachel passed around a pack of (ADA approved, sugarless) gum since no one had time to do anything but pack that morning and the brunette insisted that oral hygiene should never take a back seat to anything. Rachel spent the duration of the trip back with her head on Quinn's shoulder, staring at the seat in front of her. The moments in bed replayed through her mind over and over and each time it made her smile a little wider. They were close, so close. Rachel knew she just needed to be patient.

When they got back to the cabin Bruce backed the SUV up to the front door so they could offload everything without getting too terribly soaked. Rachel darted back and forth a few times, the last time she met Quinn who was on her way back in with one last bag.

"That's it," Quinn said, gesturing to the bag with food in it.

Rachel nodded but didn't move to go back inside. She only looked up at Quinn with the droplets of water cascading down the blonde's forehead and over her face and suddenly became very aware of her heartbeat: fast and threatening to burst out of her chest. She reached out and put her hands on Quinn's shoulders and then, with a deep breath, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Quinn's.

"That's it," Rachel repeated softly.

There was a crash as the bag of food dropped and Rachel found herself being pulled in by Quinn's hands on either side of her face and once again, lips connected. Rachel wrapped her arms around Quinn's back and held on tight, savoring the moments that ticked by as her lips slid against the blonde's. Quinn pulled her even closer and Rachel gasped a little when Quinn's tongue dipped into her mouth. She wasn't over eager, she wasn't sloppy but she wasn't methodical and robotic. She was perfect.

"Girls you sho-Oh…"

Rachel snapped her head to see Michael standing in the doorway staring blankly.

"D-dad…we…we were just…"

"Yeah…Uh. Come in when you're ready. Hot chocolate."

Rachel nodded and as soon as the cabin door shut she turned back to Quinn who was still staring at the door.

"Uh…"

Rachel giggled a little. "Quinn, it's fine. He won't say anything."

Quinn nodded and pressed a kiss to Rachel's temple. Rachel smiled responded by kissing the blonde's neck before turning to head to the door.  
The high wore off quickly once Rachel stepped into the scalding hot shower. There were five weeks of vacation left and after that they would be thrust back into the social system of McKinley where Rachel was untouchable and Quinn was Queen Bee. Rachel sighed and let the water fall over her as she tried not to think about anything beyond the summer.

XXXXXXXXXX

The moment that Rachel's lips touched hers, Quinn knew that was it. Nothing else mattered right then. Nothing at all. Not the rain, not the fact that Rachel was fresh off of a break-up, not that she would get her ass handed to her by most of the other Cheerios if they found out that Quinn was with Rachel. It didn't matter. What did matter was Rachel was there in front of her, water dripping down her face, and she wanted Quinn. The bag of food hit the ground and Quinn pulled her back in, wanting, craving, _needing_ more. Needing it all. The interruption by Michael was just about the most unwelcome thing in her life at that moment. She was mostly worried about him telling her mother, yes, but she wasn't even close to finishing wanting to kiss Rachel until she was physically unable to do so anymore.

The scalding hot shower Quinn took afterward gave her plenty of time to figure out what the hell to do next. Aside from try to kiss Rachel any chance she got, that is. There was a steaming mug of hot chocolate waiting on the kitchen island when Quinn came in from her shower in her pajamas and wrapped in her bathrobe. Michael glanced over his shoulder at her but, thankfully, didn't say anything. The blonde settled on the plush rug in front of the couch and smiled at Bruce who was stoking a roaring fire in the fireplace. It was only a few minutes later that Rachel settled down next to her with a cup of hot coffee and Bruce smiled before heading to the kitchen.

"What now?" Quinn asked, her eyes fixated on the flames.

"There are five weeks of vacation left."

Quinn nodded. "I know."

"I have feelings for you and I'm fairly certain you have them for me as well."

"I do."

"But your reputation would be slaughtered if you ever, even for just a moment, considered dating me."

"I know, Rachel. But…I don't care."

"Not right now, anyway. What happens when we get back to school?"

Quinn shrugged. She really didn't know. Technically she didn't have her reputation back yet so she had nothing to destroy. But climbing back to the top would be a little more difficult with Rachel by her side. But as she'd told Rachel, she didn't care. She really, really didn't. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around the brunette and tell her it would be okay. She set down her mug of hot chocolate and reached around Rachel's waist to pull the girl in a little closer.

"It'll be okay."

"Okay."

"Quinnie, are you cold?"

Quinn snapped her head up to her mother, standing in the doorway between the common room and the Fabray side of the cabin, and drying her hair.

"A little. I'll be fine." Quinn smiled a little and stared at the next obstacle. Her mother might have been a little oblivious but she would figure it out eventually. Right then wasn't the moment to discuss it, though, so Quinn just turned her head back to the flames and tightened her grip a little.

The pair eventually moved to the couch and Rachel fell asleep with her feet on Quinn's lap. Michael kept stealing glances their way and chewing on his lip a little nervously and Quinn new that would be yet another obstacle to get through. Another problem distracted her when her phone vibrated in her sweatpants pocket. Santana was actually calling her. It took a little clever maneuvering to get out from under Rachel without disturbing her but the blonde did and quickly padded to her bedroom to answer the call.

"Hey S."

"Okay Blondie, something doesn't add up. RuPaul broke it off with The Giant. You and B are the only ones that know we hooked up and I know she hasn't said anything."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Facebook, my friend, is a wonderful thing. Britt has Berry as one of her friends and a few weeks ago she wrote a longass note about how she was going to be spending the summer in a cabin by a lake up in New York. She left the address and all that shit and rambled about safety precautions or whatever."

Quinn swallowed and shifted. "And?"

"And, your mom left the address where you'd be staying with my mom just in case. I found it when I was going through her wallet to get the credit card."

Quinn didn't say anything.

"So you've been sharing space with Treasure Trail for the last three weeks and you didn't tell me! God, Quinn, you're not creative enough to torture her for two months. I want in on this!"

"Look, San…it…it's not…Rachel…It's complicated right now, okay?"

"Oh my God. No fucking way, Fabray. Please tell me this is some kind of joke. Are you and the Smurf going at it out in the woods?"

"Shut up, Santana."

Quinn rolled her eyes as Santana fake gagged on the other end of the line.

"I'm hanging up."

"You know you'll never get head Cheerio with her hanging on you, right? Especially when Sylvester finds out."

Quinn smirked. It was times like these when she loved the fact that she'd inherited her father's ruthlessness. "You won't get it either when she finds out you and Brittany have done it on her desk."

"You wouldn't fucking dare."

"You know I have evidence."

"What the hell do you want?" Santana growled.

"Be civil to Rachel and you keep your mouth shut about this."

"Whatever. Have fun. Don't get poison ivy when you take Berry up against a tree."

"Later, S."

Quinn shut off her phone and silently thanked Jacob Ben Israel for being a perv and trailing the two Cheerios that day. Quinn had forcibly ripped his camera from his hands and taken the memory card, knowing full well that it would come in handy someday. She looked up to see a small brunette with a huge smile on her face standing in the doorway.

"Threatening people to protect my dignity when we only shared our first kiss a few hours ago? I'm aware that our sudden change in relationship status has been rather hasty but if we're going to continue moving at this pace would you like to go ahead and move into my room?"

Quinn rolled her eyes and couldn't help but giggle as Rachel practically skipped across the floor and reached up to embrace her and connect their lips. The pair ended up on Quinn's bed, Rachel on top and straddling Quinn's hips with the blonde's hands holding onto her waist, trading moans and heated kisses. Quinn jerked a little as soft skin met hers in the form of Rachel's hand trailing up her side, underneath her t-shirt.

"Now who's moving fast?" Quinn mumbled before she dove back in to take Rachel's lower lip between her teeth.

"Do you want to stop?" Rachel kissed up Quinn's jaw and grazed her teeth just underneath the blonde's earlobe eliciting a shudder.

"No."

"Tell me if you want to stop. I just thought…"

"I'm fine, Rach."

Quinn groaned as Rachel re-attached her mouth to sensitive flesh under Quinn's jaw. Rachel's hand slid further; Quinn arched her back. Rachel's hand was so close to where she wanted it and when her hand slid up just a little further…

"Girls, we've got…"

Rachel shot up off the bed. "Dad!"

"Rachel!"

Quinn sat up and buried her burning red face in her hands. "Oh God not again."

"Dad…you…knock!"

Quinn heard quick footsteps and she turned even more bright red when her mother appeared in the doorway.

"Is everything alright?"

"Fine, Mom," Quinn mumbled. "Fine…just…just fine."

"Everything is alright," Michael assured her.

Judy nodded and headed back into the common room leaving Michael glaring at the pair. Quinn wanted to crawl under her covers and die when Michael opened his mouth to speak again.

"Okay," he sighed. Quinn chewed on her lower lip nervously as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. "I don't know how long this has been going on, nor do I want to know, but as of right now there's an open door policy."

"Dad…" Rachel whimpered.

"Please, Rachel…just…just work with me on this. You know it's no different than at home with Fi-"

"Finn and I are no longer an item. He cheated on me."

"I'm sorry about that sweetheart but it's still no different. And Quinn?"

Quinn looked up and took a deep breath.

"If you tell your mother…please warn me first so I know to expect being bombarded with questions."

"I will," Quinn said weakly.

"It's time for dinner. I'll see you in a few minutes."

After Michael was out of sight, Rachel dropped back down to the bed and reached over to take Quinn's hand and pull it up to kiss the back of it.

"That was awkward," Quinn mumbled. "Your dad probably hates me."

Rachel shrugged and smiled and for some reason, that smile made every awkward feeling run right out of Quinn's brain and she leaned forward to catch those lips in a kiss. The rest of the summer was going to be awesome.

The days blurred together and Quinn grew happier by the minute. She and Rachel quickly learned how to get secluded moments together, even for just a second. The rain kept coming, lasting for three days almost non-stop. The five exhausted almost every single board game that was in the cabin and played countless card games. When the rain finally stopped and the sun came out in the morning they went into town to look around at the various lake-front stores and tourist attractions.

They spent a day on the beach by Lake Erie watching the fishermen and Michael talked to one of the fishermen who agreed to let them go out on his boat as he fished the next morning. Quinn's sides hurt by the end of the day from laughing so much. The fish seemed to gravitate to Rachel somehow. One jumped out of the net and landed on top of the brunette's head. Rachel shrieked and jumped practically on top of Quinn to cling to her and then scowled and stormed to the other side of the boat when the blonde couldn't hold her up because she was doubled over from laughter.

When one of the crew members opened the hatch to show them the tank underneath, by some freak happening, one of them leaped out of the tank and right at Rachel's face. Quinn fell on the deck, gasping for air, in between choking out laughs.

"This is exactly why I'm a vegan!" Rachel yelled. "See! They're exacting their revenge on me from eating their siblings earlier this summer! Why couldn't this town just have decent tofu?"

Quinn only laughed harder.

The blonde stood by Rachel as they steered the boat and the navigator showed them how he used the boat's echolocation equipment to find schools of fish. A flash made Quinn turn around to see Bruce with a camera and a smile.

"Daddy!" Rachel growled. "I'm covered in fish goo; it's absolutely not flattering at all!"

Bruce chuckled and walked back out on deck; Quinn slipped an arm around Rachel's waist and leaned down close to her.

"You make fish goo look good, sweetie," Quinn whispered.

When Quinn pulled away, Rachel's cheeks were fire red and she was grinning from ear to ear. She ducked her head when Judy came in to look at all of the navigator's equipment and accidentally set off an alarm of some sort. Rachel let Bruce take as many pictures as he wanted for the rest of the day and into the evening when the town was painted red, white, and blue for the Independence Day festival. The fireworks were a little brighter when reflected in Rachel's eyes, Quinn noticed.

Later that evening Quinn looked at the calendar tacked on the wall and whimpered. There were only four weeks left. It seemed like a long time, sure, but she knew it was going to fly by.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
Their first kiss was magical, Rachel knew. It was picture perfect and the kind of thing one sees in movies. It helped tremendously that Quinn was an excellent kisser. Their physical chemistry was through the roof but getting along as people was going to be a challenge. Rachel was stubborn and drifted between being fiercely independent and fairly dependent. Quinn was ruthless and could go from zero to bitch in no time flat and was also rather hard-headed.

Rachel was determined that she wasn't going to change. She hadn't for anyone else and she wasn't going to for Quinn. She needed to know how Quinn worked, though. The brunette spent a good hour and a half working on a questionnaire one late night and, satisfied she would receive sufficient information, she tiptoed into the blonde's bedroom.

"Hey you," Quinn smiled up from filing her nails. She tossed the emery board on the nightstand and beckoned Rachel forward. The brunette obliged immediately. The notebook in her hands was almost forgotten after a few heated kisses and Quinn's hands trailing up her sides and urging her back to lie down. Ever the determined one, Rachel wasn't going to be distracted and she pulled away with the notebook in her hands and smiled.

"If we're to become an item," Rachel started, "there are things I must know about you."

Quinn arched her (perfectly sculpted, Rachel noted) eyebrow. "Okay."

Rachel pulled the pen from behind her ear and opened her notebook. "Favorite color?"

"Pink."

Rachel grinned. "That works out quite nicely. Pink and yellow go very well together."

"Rachel is this like…an interview?"

"We should know these things, Quinn. For instance, if I were to purchase you a sweater I now know that pink is a safe choice for said sweater. Now, I've heard that your favorite food is bacon. Is this accurate?"

"I…not really. I mean, I craved it all the time when I was pregnant but it's not my favorite. Strawberry ice cream is my favorite. I actually would put bacon on it…it wasn't bad. Why do we have to know everything about each other right now?"

"I told you," Rachel said, exasperated, "it ensures we know basic facts about each other."

"Shouldn't we learn that stuff on the way…so we have things to talk about?"

"We'll have plenty of things to talk about. These are just basic facts to get us started. Because, say I wanted to take you on a date, if I took you to a Mexican restaurant but you hate Mexican food then-"

"We could go to a different restaurant. This isn't rocket science."

Rachel growled. "I want to get to know you on a level other than your tongue in my mouth. Which, of course I don't mind because you're a rather wonderful kisser, but knowing each other on a more intimate level is important. We need to make sure we can carry on conversation."

"We have plenty of conversations. We talked for an hour yesterday about infomercials and before that we talked for half an hour about how much crap Mr. Schuester puts in his hair."

Rachel searched her brain to find an argument but there really wasn't one. They did have plenty of conversations and they were about a wide array of topics. She smiled at the realization that dating a girl was going to be a little easier in that department compared to Finn or Puck or even Jesse for that matter. Yes, musical theater was an extremely big topic of interest for Rachel, but Jesse took it overboard. So, trusting Quinn, Rachel closed her notebook and dropped her pen. Quinn smiled.

"Ask me anything you want," Quinn said, "but it doesn't have to be right now or all at once."

Rachel nodded. It fell out of her mouth before she could help it. It was something she'd wondered since the first time Quinn ever hurled an insult at her. She'd lay awake at night and think about it. If Quinn ever told her she had one question to ask, this was it.

"Why did you hate me?"

Quinn squeaked.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, Quinn. You don't have to answer that." Rachel chewed on her lower lip and wrung her hands as Quinn shook her head.

"No…no it's…" Quinn looked down at her lap and threaded her fingers through blonde locks. Rachel reached forward to put a hand on Quinn's knee as she took a few deep breaths. "I was jealous. I know it's like, the most cliché thing ever, but it's true. You have your dads and this life where you could be whoever you wanted and I couldn't. I had to be head Cheerio and president of the Celibacy Club."

"You think I wasn't jealous? You had everything. You were popular and you had Finn and…friends."

"I had people I had to be perfect for."

"Would you rather be on the bottom of the social ladder, an invisible untouchable, or on top of the world?"

That got Quinn to look up and into Rachel's eyes.

"I don't know." The words were whispered and hoarse and Rachel reached up to brush away the tears that escaped Quinn's eyes. "I don't want to be invisible. But I can't…I can't keep this up. It's so hard to be perfect for everyone all the time…it's tiring."

Rachel moved even closer and gathered Quinn into her arms. She rubbed her hands up and down Quinn's back and hummed quietly until the blonde settled down. It wasn't something she'd ever really thought about, how hard Quinn had it. She assumed that being perfect just came naturally to the blonde. The fact that Quinn had to work so hard to achieve it…well, if it was anything close to how hard she had to work to keep up a confident façade after being slushied or insulted she was surprised Quinn hadn't ended up in a hospital somewhere for exhaustion.

"I don't want you to be anyone you don't want to be," Rachel finally whispered.

"I don't want you to hurt anymore."

Rachel stiffened at the response, not expecting it in the least. Quinn sat up and smiled a little; she dried her own tears and gently pushed Rachel's hair back.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. I'm sorry I ever hurt you when all you've ever done is take care of me."

"Quinn…"

"You know it's true."

"I know. But I know that it wasn't _you_. This is you, isn't it?"

Quinn nodded; Rachel smiled. It felt like a huge risk, letting Quinn in like this, but Rachel had to trust her instincts. Her sixth sense said to go for it and so far, she'd never been wrong. Well…except about Jesse. But that disaster wasn't something to think about anymore.

"I think," Rachel said, reaching over to dry a few more of Quinn's tears, "that we should move on from the past. We learn from our mistakes and as long as we don't repeat those mistakes then we'll be alright, won't we?"

Once again, Quinn nodded. "I'd like that."

So it was settled. They kissed on it and maybe groped a little for good measure and Rachel smiled at the way she made Quinn gasp underneath her touch. She fell asleep breathing heavily and sure she'd just experienced one of the most intimate moments of her life thus far…and she was still fully clothed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Quinn knew it wasn't going to be easy to date Rachel. Rachel liked to talk and it had been made clear that Quinn had a little trouble with that. Quinn knew she'd have to work with it, especially talking about the negative, and when Rachel came in with her questionnaire and the conversation made the sharp detour…it was a start. Quinn, for once, didn't feel guilty about feeling bad, about crying, about admitting that she had a weakness. Rachel's arms around her were all she needed and she knew in that moment that there was something there. Something strong. It was amazing and petrifying all in one. The blonde also knew she'd have to confront her mother at some point and that was going to be interesting, to say the least.

Waking up with Rachel in her arms was amazing. The brunette's head was nestled on her chest and one leg was in between Quinn's and it was just perfect. It was cut a little short with a knock and Michael in the doorway with an unexpected look on his face. He wasn't angry at the situation but he looked a little…worried.

"There's uh…there's someone here. To see Rachel."

At the sound of her name, Rachel lifted her head from Quinn's chest. The blonde sat up with her girlfriend and rubbed her eyes. A deep voice carried into the bedroom and Quinn immediately sprang to her feet.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Dad…"

"He just showed up here, honey. There wasn't anything I could do."

Quinn saw red. Pure red. Red like the blood that was going to splatter the walls after she got through with Finn for even thinking about showing up, especially after she'd just cracked with Rachel and the pair had agreed to let go of the past. Pajamas and bed-head be damned, Quinn marched out into the common room and the first thing she did when Finn turned around was slap him across the face.

"How dare you even _think_ about showing up here you lying sack of shit?"

"Quinn!" her mother shrieked. "That was uncalled for!"

"No it's not! He cheated on Rachel."

Finn turned bright red and looked at the ground and shuffled his feet. "I wanted to talk to her…"

"Stay away from her."

Quinn almost lunged forward to take the idiot in front of her down a few pegs when he dared to square his shoulders and open his mouth to say something but she stopped when a small hand touched her back. The blonde reached around to put a hand on Rachel's waist and pulled her in close.

"Finn," Rachel said with a nod. "I apologize that you came all this way but I meant what I said, it's over."

"That's bullsh-" Finn looked at the three adults still in the room. "I care about you," he said lowly. "Come on, Rach. I messed up, okay? It won't happen again, I swear. I came all this way to tell you that. I love you, you know that."

Quinn tensed a little as Rachel took a deep breath.

"It's over, Finn."

"Please, Rach." Finn stepped forward and reached out and the minute his hand touched Rachel's cheek, Quinn let go. She tore away from Rachel's side and planted her shoulder into Finn's stomach; he hadn't expected it and it resulted in the pair crashing to the floor. Quinn ended up with her hands on Finn's shoulders and her fingernails digging in as deep as she could get them.

"You keep your hands _off_ my girlfriend. Got it?"

Finn stopped struggling against the grip and Quinn glared down at him, baring her teeth, and she growled.

"Do you understand me, moron? Or is that pea brain of yours still in Santana's bedroom?"

It was difficult to figure out who spoke first but three voices echoed through the room at the exact same time and all three of them made Quinn's stomach turn and head hurt just a little.

"You knew this whole time?"

"Rachel…you?"

"Quinnie…you're gay? You hate flannel…"

Quinn released her grip and stood, backing away from Finn who reluctantly sat up. Her eyes darted to Rachel whose eyes were wide with a hurt shock. Reluctantly, Quinn looked to her mother; Judy's eyes were wide with a different kind of shock. She backed until her knees hit the edge of a chair and she dropped down into it.

"I'm sorry," Quinn mumbled as she buried her face in her hands. She wasn't sure which one it was directed to but it seemed like the best thing to say at the time.

"Finn," Rachel said, "I think we need to talk and let Quinn discuss some things with her mother."

Quinn heard two sets of footsteps leave the room and one come toward her, stop momentarily to put a hand on her shoulder, and then head to the Fabray side of the cabin. Quinn took a deep breath and followed her mother.

"Mom, I wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you so many times." Quinn finally looked up to meet her mother's gaze. Her heart almost stopped when her mother sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm so sorry, Mom…please don't be mad. Please…"

"I'm not mad…I'm a little upset that you didn't tell me sooner, of course. Come here, sweetie." Judy patted the bed next to her and Quinn sat down and folded her hands in her lap. She stared at the floor and jumped a little when her mother brushed her hair back. "Are you happy, Quinn?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah."

"That's all I've ever wanted for you, sweetie. If Rachel makes you happy then that's all that matters to me. I…I can't say it will be something I'll get used to overnight but I promise you, honey, I promise that I won't ever abandon you again. I love you, Quinnie. I love you more than you can imagine."

Quinn reached up and dried her tears and sniffled a few times before smiling. "I love you, too. God, Rachel's going to kill me. I should've told her but…but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt her like that…I didn't want to see that look on her face."

"You need to tell her that, not me."

"I know," Quinn sighed. There was a moment of silence before her mother spoke again.

"So you're sure about this? You're…you're sure?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Do we need to buy more plaid? Would you like to join a softball league? I…there are parades, right? We can go to parades if you like."

Quinn choked out a laugh and threw her arms around her mother. "It's fine, Mom. Thanks. I don't think I'm up for a pride parade just yet. And like…if you have questions or something you can ask me. You don't have to ask Rachel's dads."

Judy nodded and hugged her daughter once more. Maybe the hugging wasn't so bad. A loud door slam pulled Quinn from the bubble she was currently in and she took a deep breath, knowing she was about to face much louder and probably less pleasant music. Her mother hugged her one last time before leaving the room and shortly after a very angry looking brunette appeared in the doorway.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Why are you here?" Rachel asked softly as she shut her bedroom door. She looked up to see Finn rubbing his shoulders with a grimace.

"I wanted to work stuff out."

"Why would I want to do that, Finn? Why would I want to trust you?"

Finn rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "'Cause I love you."

"You cheated on me. With Santana, apparently."

"I missed you. I thought abou-"

"Save it," Rachel hissed. "You've hurt me time after time, Finn. You're nothing but a liar and you clearly value sex more than honesty and fidelity. How do I know what else you've lied to me about? How many times have you slept with her?"

Finn mumbled a response and Rachel was sure she had heard incorrectly.

"Excuse me?"

"Three. It…you were dating Jesse and you said you slept with him so I…"

Rachel shrieked. "You lied to me then, too? I…You…I _gave myself_ to you, Finn, and I thought it was mutual. How could you do this to me?"

"It didn't mean anything! And you lied to me, too!"

"I never lied to you, I told you that it wasn't a big deal and it wasn't because nothing happened and you knew that because I told you before we did it! You seemed to be perfectly fine with it then. You…You know what, I don't care. It…it's over. I'm finished."

"What about Quinn, huh? She's a bitch to you!"

"That doesn't concern you."

Finn started pacing and Rachel backed off a few steps to give him room to throw his tantrum.

"That's bull! Sh-she lied to you! She knew! Did you hear what she said? She knew and didn't tell you."

"You are such a hypocrite! That issue is between Quinn and me, not us. If you have nothing more to discuss with me that pertains to you and me then I think it's best that you leave."

"Fine," Finn growled. He flung the bedroom door open and Rachel watched as he grabbed his bag and stormed out of the cabin. Rachel took a few calming breaths and went into the common room just as Judy walked out of the Fabray side of the cabin.

"Go easy on her, sweetie," the blonde woman said. "She cares about you a lot, you know?"

Rachel nodded but it didn't stop her from being a little angry and hurt that Quinn had withheld information from her. Granted, it wasn't something like her virginity status, but it still hurt. She stood in the bedroom doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and looked for a minute at the sniffling blonde on the bed.

"Quinn."

"Rach…I'm so sorry."

Rachel took a deep breath as Quinn buried her head in her hands. She crossed the floor and dropped to the bed next to her distraught girlfriend and gently put a hand on Quinn's back.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you. I just keep screwing things up, don't I?"

"I don't understand why you would be worried about such a thing. You didn't hurt me."

Quinn sighed and Rachel tried to look as optimistic as she could when the blonde lifted her head and reached out to brush her thumb against Rachel's cheek.

"You get this look when you hurt…it's like…I never _really_ noticed it until that night when we…when I said…But I'd seen it so much, I didn't want to see it again. It kills me every time I think about it. I didn't want you to hurt anymore, I told you."

Rachel nodded. "I understand, I really do, but you can't do this, Quinn. You can't withhold information from me simply because you fear the reaction. I care about a great deal and I assure you that we can talk through these things. I just ask that you remain faithful and don't ever physically, emotionally, or verbally assault me."

"Can I still make fun of your height?" Quinn grinned.

Rachel let out a dramatic sigh. "If you must," she said with a giggle and an eyeroll.

"I care about you, too," Quinn whispered.

Rachel leaned forward and brushed her lips against Quinn's; a gentle kiss became two and then three and then tongues met in the middle and Rachel smiled a little. She almost had the urge to tell Quinn that she loved her but it was a little too soon and she was really, really determined not to create any tension when they'd already had so much of it. So, instead, she threaded her fingers through Quinn's hair and tugged her a little closer until the blonde pulled away with a smile.

"We should stop," Quinn panted. "This…this is my mom's bed. It's just wrong."

Rachel nodded. "Do you think we should at least offer Finn a place to stay for the night? I'm clueless as to how he got here or how he's getting home."

"He has legs; he can walk."

"Quinn, I take every opportunity to improve my karma. I may have dismissed him and informed him that we're no longer a couple and most likely never will be again but he is the lead male in glee club. What if something were to happen to him that devastated our chances at competition and, essentially, my budding career?"

Quinn shrugged and Rachel stood to pull her up from the bed and the pair adjourned to the common room where, shockingly, they saw Finn standing with his backpack staring at the floor while Bruce had him cornered and was speaking very, very lowly.

"Dad," Rachel led Quinn to the kitchen where Michael was slicing bananas and Judy was flipping pancakes. "What's going on?"

"We figured that he had nowhere else to go and your daddy is giving him a talk on how to properly treat a lady. I have a feeling it's also going something along the lines of 'you're lucky it was Quinn who took first action because you'd be in the hospital if it were me'. That's just a guess, though. And possibly cleaned up quite a bit."

Rachel glanced over to Quinn and saw the corners of the blonde's mouth twitch. They both looked up in time to see Finn walk out of the cabin yet again; Bruce joined the others in the kitchen and grabbed a knife to help his husband.

"Finn has opted to take a cab into town and stay there until he can get a bus home and he won't be in a six foot radius of Rachel unless it's required for a school activity."

Quinn's mouth turned into a full smile and Rachel arched an eyebrow.

"You're putting a restraining order on him, Daddy?"

"Better. I put the fear of a hurt little girl's father into him."

"That is so awesome," Quinn said with a laugh. She reached over the island and high fived Bruce, putting a smile back on the man's face.

"Daddy, I'm over it. You didn't need to threaten him."

"Breakfast is finished," Judy said with a smile as she turned around with a plate stacked high with pancakes. It ended the conversation and Rachel rolled her eyes as she took the plates and helped Quinn set the dining room table for breakfast.

Rachel breathed almost a sigh of relief when, for the first time, she could take Quinn's hand at the table and smile at the blonde adoringly and not have to worry about any consequences.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**  
"Hey," Quinn said, lifting her head up from Rachel's shoulder. "What happened in that book?"

It had been two days since Finn had shown up unexpectedly and things had gone back to better than normal in the cabin. Quinn was glad to have her relationship with Rachel out in the open; it meant not hiding kisses or having to hold hands under blankets. She snuggled with Rachel on the couch and flirted openly at dinner ("Come on baby, just try it." "I hate asparagus, Quinn." "If you try the asparagus then I'll kiss you." "Fine.") and it felt pretty damn good.

Currently, everyone was piled in the Berry SUV and on the way to the berry patch just outside of town where they were holding a festival.

"Which book?"

Quinn grinned. "You know…that one book."

Rachel turned bright red and Quinn couldn't help but laugh. "The protagonist gets her heart broken," Rachel said vaguely. "But has high hopes that she can be with the one she loves in the end."

Quinn nodded. "I think she will be."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Some things you just know."

Rachel snuggled deeper into Quinn's side and the blonde just smiled and entwined her fingers with her girlfriend's. Quinn glanced up in the rear-view mirror at one point and caught Bruce's gaze. When he narrowed his eyes a little, Quinn tucked her lower lip between her teeth and straightened up away from Rachel a bit. Bruce smiled and shook his head.

"Good to know that works."

"Don't pay any attention to him, Quinn," Rachel purred. "As they say, his bark is worse than his bite."

"Just looking out for my number one girl."

"I'm your _only_ girl, Daddy."

Quinn giggled and nuzzled the side of Rachel's head. She pressed her lips to the girl's temple and whispered quietly, "You're my number one, baby."

Rachel turned her head and returned Quinn's smile; the blonde was taken by surprise when Rachel pulled her in for a kiss. Not just a chaste kiss, either. A full on lip sucking, tongue pressing for entrance kind of kiss.

"Girls," Judy said, still looking down at the book she'd been focused on, "I may be hip to the lifestyle but Quinnie is still my little girl and there are things a mother doesn't want to see or hear."

Thoroughly humiliated, Quinn blushed and pressed a quick kiss to Rachel's forehead just as Bruce pulled into the berry patch parking lot.

"Meet back here for lunch at noon," Michael said as Quinn scrambled out of the SUV pulling Rachel with her.

The pair walked around the festival for a while and saw jars of jelly and jam, fresh berries, homemade items such as quilts, pillows, paintings, and potholders (all of which were berry-themed), pies, cobblers, and even wines. They stopped at a table to sample the fresh berries and Quinn watched with amusement as Rachel carefully looked over each berry before selecting a few blackberries to sample. The blonde shrugged and picked up a fresh strawberry to bite into. She had to admit that it was pretty damn delicious.

"Quinn," Rachel said with a suggestive smirk, "you have berry juice on your chin."

Quinn choked a little. Two could play this game. "The berry is so sweet and juicy, though." Quinn watched Rachel's eyes widen as she licked her lips and then, slowly, took each finger in her mouth and sucked off the remainder of the strawberry juice. "I love the taste of this berry."

Rachel's mouth opened and closed a few times and Quinn watched her eyes darken a little. "Do you make a habit of licking berry juice off of your fingers?"

"If I have the chance I'd like to do it a lot in the future." Quinn picked up a blueberry and popped into her mouth, moaning a little dramatically at the taste, and watched Rachel's eyes as they never left her lips. Quinn held out her hand with a smile and took one last shot. "There are a lot more berries I'd like to sample. Shall we?"

Quinn laughed as Rachel nodded absentmindedly and took her hand to be led around the festival. The blonde hoped and prayed that she could catch a break and get a little time alone with Rachel in the next few days because, as was obvious by the conversation they'd just had, there was _a lot_ they wanted to get out.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a loud voice booming through the festival grounds made the pair stop and search until their eyes hit a stage a rather large man was standing on with a smile. "There are fifteen minutes left to register for this year's pie eating contest. We've got our returning champion, Stan Ackerman," the man gestured to an even larger man standing in the front of the crowd, "and five others who dare go against the three-time undefeated champ. There are four more slots open, anyone can sign up! The competition starts in half an hour and there's a hundred dollar prize for the winner."

Quinn grinned. "Oh yeah."

"Quinn?"

"Come on, I'm signing up."

"Quinn, these things are barbaric and I'm certain that eating pies that quickly isn't good for your health. Did you see the champion? The man is-"

"I was pregnant, Rachel. I know how to scarf down food and it's just one pie."

Rachel whined as Quinn pulled her through the crowd to the sign up table. The blonde filled out the forms quickly and selected strawberry pie as her pie of choice. The woman at the table went over the rules: no using hands, first one to completely finish the pie won and she had to keep it down. Oh yeah, this was going to be awesome. Rachel kept protesting until Stan approached the table and laughed as Quinn signed her name.

"Good luck, stick figure," he said. "Sorry sweetie, you don't have a chance. Have you ever even finished off a slice of pie?"

Before Quinn could say anything she was practically shoved out of the way and Rachel was standing in front of her, facing this man that was more than a foot and a half taller and at least three times her weight.

"I'll have you know, sir, that she is more than prepared to beat you in this competition."

"Okay half-pint."

Quinn held onto Rachel's arm, knowing the girl was probably fearless enough to take on this giant, and chuckled as Rachel shrieked and then growled.

"Prepare to be obliterated."

The man just chuckled and thundered away toward the stage; Rachel shrieked again and then pulled Quinn toward the stage where the other contestants were gathering. She didn't say a word as she sat Quinn down and pulled her hair back, tying it with a tie she pulled from somewhere Quinn was unaware of. Quinn gave a small wave to Rachel's dads and her mother who had joined the crowd of observers.

"You got this, baby," Rachel whispered. "Kick some ass."

"I thought pie eating was-"

"Shut up and eat, Quinn."

"Can't wait to hear that again," Quinn mumbled. She didn't think Rachel heard her until a tongue darted out to flick over the shell of her ear.

"You will," Rachel murmured against her ear.

Quinn shuddered and watched, mouth open, as Rachel sauntered off the stage. Her attention went back to the competition when her pie was set in front of her and the announcer told the contestants to get ready. Quinn clasped her hands behind her back and popped her neck; she looked on either side of her to check out the competition and she smirked. She had this in the bag. Her only worry was Stan but she was willing to bet that Stan had never been pregnant and craving something so much that he was willing to threaten someone for it. As soon as the announcer yelled "go", Quinn dove in face first.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Girls want sex just as much as guys do."

It was true. Really, very true. At least as far as Rachel was concerned. She was careful about who she shared it with, though. There had only ever been two, one who had broken her heart, and the other who was standing there licking strawberry juice off of her fingers and staring straight at Rachel while doing it. Rachel had meant the start of the berry discussion to be a joke, really, but then it turned into this innuendo filled conversation and Rachel could practically feel her eyes turn dark. For one of the few times in her life Rachel was actually rendered speechless. She felt like something inside of her was set ablaze and the fire grew more intense with every move of Quinn's lips. She then fully realized the meaning behind "It's all about the teasing". And she hated it.

Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a festival, and being in the middle of that festival meant no alone time and plenty of distractions. Rachel wondered if Quinn possibly had some sort of attention deficit disorder because she seemed to snap out of it the minute she heard the announcer talk about the pie eating contest. The apprehensions Rachel had about the contest were cut short when that ugly man insulted her precious girlfriend. Rachel's intense competitive side took over and she was damn determined that Quinn would win. She was a little taken aback by the comment the blonde made but she retaliated quite beautifully, she thought.

Rachel watched from the front of the crowd as the announcer yelled "go" and Quinn buried her face in the strawberry pie. Rachel cheered loudly, her voice carried around the crowds and she knew she was getting looked at by others but she didn't care. She watched Quinn devour the whipped cream, strawberries, and pie crust and proceed to lick up what she'd missed. Brief flashes of what else that tongue could quite possibly do went through Rachel's brain until Quinn threw her hands up and the announcer yelled for everyone to stop. Rachel held her breath as the announcer looked down at the pie plate.

"We have a new champion!" he yelled.

Rachel jumped up and down and practically skipped all the way up the stage to meet Quinn in a hug. After giving a smug nod to Stan she turned her attention back to her girlfriend and squeezed her tight. The announcer handed Quinn a small trophy and told her where she could go to pick up the prize money and the stage was rushed again by Rachel's dads and Quinn's mom, all of whom were offering their congratulations. With the view from the crowd blocked, Rachel leaned up to give a congratulatory kiss to her girlfriend, not caring that she was still covered in pie.

After helping Quinn clean off the five found something to eat and then picked up baskets to go into the berry fields to pick. Rachel led Quinn away from the adults and through the thick bushes because, duh, alone time. They picked two baskets full and were headed back to pay for them when Rachel stopped and grinned at her girlfriend. She dropped her basket on the ground and checked for anyone that might be around before reaching up to loop her arms around Quinn's neck; Quinn's hands were on her waist immediately, strong yet gentle. Quinn's eyes were soft and warm and her smile at Rachel was one the brunette had only seen directed at her. Quinn had changed so much in the summer that it was almost unbelievable to Rachel.

"I'm proud of you," Rachel whispered.

"It was just a pie eating contest, Rach."

Rachel shook her head. "Not just that. It's everything. It's you as a whole and just…us."

"It's been a crazy summer."

"I must agree. But, I must also say that it's been one of the best I think I've experienced thus far in my life."

"Mine, too."

Rachel smiled and reached up to kiss the blonde. Tongues met in a dual for dominance until Quinn broke away and kissed down Rachel's jaw to her neck, nipping and biting. Quinn's teeth found a spot that Rachel didn't even know she had that made her go weak at the knees, literally. Quinn held her up, though, and kept her close.

"You okay?" Quinn's voice was low and hoarse as she whispered.

"A little over-stimulated."

"We really need to get our parents out of the cabin."

"Most definitely."

Once Rachel figured out how to properly work her legs again the pair made their way back to the cash register where they met her dads and Judy. They had plenty of berries to last them for the rest of vacation and probably plenty to take home with them and they picked up Quinn's prize money. As they walked through the festival back to the parking lot they were handed questionnaires about the berry patch as well as a schedule of the events happening later in the evening.

"Quinnie, which berry was your favorite?" Rachel heard Judy ask as they filled out their surveys.

Quinn leaned over and Rachel furrowed her eyebrows until the blonde whispered in her ear, "Rachel."

Rachel squeaked.

"The strawberries, Mom."

Judy hummed and then scribbled out the rest of the survey. Rachel turned her attention back to the questionnaire her dads were filling out.

"Oh! Bruce, Michael, there's a wine tasting tonight!"

Rachel snapped her head up to look at Judy who was positively glowing as she pointed to the schedule of events. Her eyes met Quinn's and the blonde's were just as hopeful. Rachel looked back to her dads who both looked unsure.

"Dad, Daddy, I highly recommend it. You haven't been able to participate in many adult activities this summer due to the underage status of Quinn and myself and I assume that interaction with other adults is just as important as teens interacting with each other as well."

"Right," Bruce said, his eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure there's an activity for the girls," Judy said, looking back down to the schedule. "Yes, look, there's a dessert social!"

Rachel almost groaned until Quinn beat her to it.

"Mom, I just scarfed down a whole pie. Dessert is the last thing I want right now. I think I should probably just stay at the cabin and sleep it off."

"I wouldn't be comfortable at an event in a strange place by myself," Rachel added, trying not to sound too eager.

"If the girls want to stay at the cabin that's alright with me," Judy said with a nod.

Rachel saw both of her fathers grimace a little and then nod. Rachel's only thought?

Finally.

It was agreed, since Rachel was firm on no one drinking and driving and also saving the environment, that the adults would stay at the festival since the wine tasting was only a few hours away while Rachel and Quinn took the SUV back to the cabin. Bruce reluctantly handed the keys off to Quinn and Rachel barely said goodbye to her dads before running like a bat out of hell to the parking lot with Quinn in tow.

The drive to the cabin was painstaking. Rachel had Quinn's hand clasped in her own as the blonde carefully navigated back. When she pulled up to the cabin they sat in silence for a few seconds before Quinn turned her head and nodded a little.

"So…yeah?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes, please."

Rachel's heart was racing as she sprinted to the cabin door and followed Quinn inside. The blonde silently led Rachel to the Fabray side of the cabin and into her bedroom. It started like any of their other heated make-outs except this time Rachel knew that there wouldn't be an interruption. Quinn kicked off her shoes and socks; Rachel did the same. The pair emptied their pockets onto the dresser, Quinn sat on the bed and beckoned Rachel forward with a smile and a curl of her finger; Rachel answered said beckon by straddling Quinn's lap and smiling like a Cheshire cat. She wasted no time and immediately crushed her lips against Quinn's; the gesture was returned enthusiastically. Before Rachel even knew what happened, her shirt was unbuttoned and piled on Quinn's floor. Rachel got rid of Quinn's shirt quickly and they moved to the head of the bed in a more horizontal position. Everything was perfect and running smoothly until the sound of "Defying Gravity" filled the room.

Rachel dropped her forehead onto Quinn's shoulder and whimpered.

"Don't get it," Quinn whispered as her fingers started tugging at Rachel's bra.

"It's probably my dads."

Rachel reluctantly got out of bed and looked at her caller ID. She growled when she saw her daddy's number on the screen.

"Hello, Daddy." She didn't even try to hide her agitation.

"Hey sweetie, we just wanted to make sure you got back to the cabin alright."

"We're fine. Are you going to call every fifteen minutes?"

"I might."

"Then I may just call every fifteen minutes next time you and Dad go out of town for your anniversary."

There was silence and Rachel smirked, knowing she'd won.

"I'll call you when we're done."

"Love you, Daddy."

"Love you, too."

Rachel hung up the phone and dropped it back to the dresser. When she turned to look at Quinn she licked her lips a little at the almost topless blonde who was now propped up on her elbows with an expectant look on her face.

"They won't be bothering us anymore tonight."

"I heard."

"Any ideas on what we should do with our time?"

Rachel felt her mouth slowly drop open as Quinn sat up and unhooked her own bra then tossed it on the floor.

"I've got a few ideas."

It only took a split second before Rachel was back on top of Quinn. The remainder of the clothing was discarded and Rachel pulled the blankets up around them; the feeling of skin on skin was amazing. Quinn was soft and smooth and the little sounds she made when Rachel pressed here or bit there were better than any music the brunette had ever heard. It wasn't perfect and it was a little uncomfortable in the twin bed; Rachel couldn't wait to get Quinn into the queen size bed she had at home, but it worked. There were a few fumbles and a couple of hisses and more than once Rachel had to remind Quinn that she wasn't made of glass and she wasn't going to break. In the end, when Rachel regained the feeling in her hands after having gripped the sheets so tight she thought she might rip them to shreds and Quinn was kissing her way back up to lie her head on Rachel's chest, it was everything Rachel had imagined and so much more.

"Rachel?"

"Hm?" Feeling Quinn's eyes on her, Rachel slowly opened hers and peered down to see Quinn looking back up at her. Quinn smiled ever so slightly and Rachel searched for a moment to find the blonde's hand and entwine their fingers.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The seconds ticked by and Rachel threaded the fingers of her free hand through Quinn's hair and smiled at the sensation of Quinn's lips occasionally pressing against the swell of her breasts. Rachel moved her hand to cup Quinn's jaw and their gazes met once more.

"Quinn?"

"Hm?"

"You have Berry juice on your chin."

Rachel smirked a little until Quinn pulled away and grabbed hold of Rachel's ribcage and started tickling. Rachel squealed and squirmed and eventually got Quinn's hands away from her and flipped the pair over. She smiled down at her lover and dipped her head down for a kiss to start the cycle of touches and moans and (very loud) declarations of love and climaxes all over again. And then again. They only stopped when Rachel's dads called that the wine tasting was over and it took almost more energy than Rachel had to pry herself away from Quinn's embrace to get dressed and try to make it look like she hadn't just had a sex marathon. Judging by the fact that her fathers refused to ask or even go near the question of, "what did you girls do this evening?", it didn't work.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**  
When Quinn woke the next morning, still sore in such a wonderful way, she smiled. Rachel wasn't with her because, duh, they weren't going to make things any more awkward with the adults than they already were. She realized, though, that there were two weeks left of vacation and she had yet to really try and get back into that Cheerios uniform still hanging in her closet. She dressed quickly, stretched, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and was getting ready to grab onto the doorknob when a tan hand stopped her.

"Quinn, do you recall what happened last time you attempted to go running?"

"I have to get back into shape before school starts."

"Then I will accompany you. I've been very lax on my exercise routine this summer. And for the record," Rachel slipped her arms around Quinn's waist and nuzzled her neck, "I think you're incredibly stunning. And I know another way to work out if you'd rather do that."

Quinn almost couldn't argue with her girlfriend's logic but the image of that uniform was still swimming in her brain. She kissed Rachel's temple, her cheek, her lips.

"I need to run, sweetie."

"Wait five minutes?"

Quinn nodded and watched Rachel skip back through the house and return exactly five minutes later in the fourth most appetizing outfit Quinn had ever seen her in. The first, of course, being absolutely nothing, the second was the bikini, and the third was the corset Kurt had put her in. At the present moment Rachel was in sinfully short red shorts and a skin tight white tanktop with her hair up in a messy ponytail.

"Like what you see?" Rachel asked as she bent over to stretch.

"Maybe."

"Perhaps if you keep up there will be a reward."

Quinn snorted and opened the door to follow Rachel out. "If you short legs can catch up to me first."

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. Rachel took off running and Quinn was desperate trying her best to keep up. The view wasn't too bad, though. Rachel's ass in those shorts was pretty tantalizing. The brunette finally slowed down enough to let Quinn catch up and they jogged down to the beach and along the shore of the lake. They stopped on a dock for a bit to catch their breath and watch the sun come up over the horizon. Lake Erie was sparkling and the fishermen were just getting out on the water.

"I'll miss this," Rachel sighed after passing the bottle of water back to Quinn.

"We can go jogging in Lima, Rach. We'll go around the park or something."

"Maybe."

"What, afraid to be seen with a Cheerio?" Quinn nudged Rachel's side but didn't get the reaction she hoped for. Instead of a laugh or even a smile she got another sigh. "Come on, Rach. Nothing is going to change. I promise." Quinn brushed a few stray strands of dark hair away from Rachel's face. "I love you, Rachel Berry."

That earned Quinn a smile and a kiss before Rachel chuckled and hopped up off the dock to take off running. Quinn growled playfully and honestly had to run to keep up. Again, they settled into a jog and took the route back to the cabin. Once the house was in sight Quinn picked up the pace a bit. Rachel sped up a little ahead then Quinn moved ahead once more. They continued the game until Rachel took off in a full sprint. Determined not to lose, because Quinn Fabray doesn't lose, she pushed her body to the limit and sprinted as hard and as fast as she could. She literally ran into the cabin when she got there and dropped to the ground on her stomach gasping for air. Rachel fell next to her a few seconds later.

"I…win." Quinn gasped.

"I…let…you."

"I…think…I…might…die."

"At least…you look…hot."

"You too."

Quinn reached out with what little energy she had and groped for Rachel's hand. It was sweaty and kind of gross but she didn't care. She held on and continued trying to get her lungs to function. She only looked up when the cabin door opened and Michael stepped out with a cup of coffee and looked down.

"Do I…want to know?"

"We went running," Rachel groaned. "I don't think I can move. Can Daddy come carry us in?"

Michael chuckled. "Fresh berry smoothies sound good for breakfast?"

"Sure," Quinn mumbled, rolling over onto her back. "Just…get a funnel and pour it in my mouth."

Michael laughed and shook his head before retreating back into the cabin. Quinn tried to move but everything still hurt and she whimpered and dropped back to the grass.

"We should shower. We've sweat out several toxins and it's essential to wash thoroughly before they seep back into our skin."

"We could tell our parents we're saving water by showering together."

"That sounds like an incredibly appetizing idea but I'm not sure it will work. My dads will never fall for it and, although I do find you very irresistible right now, I won't be able to move properly until after a very long shower."

"Damn."

"We should get up."

"Right."

Quinn watched out of the corner of her eye as Rachel struggled to get to her feet and then took the offered hand to get up. She groaned with each step and stretched a little more before a wonderfully hot shower to soothe her aching muscles. There was a fresh strawberry smoothie waiting for her on the kitchen island; she thanked her mother and took it to the couch in front of the unlit fireplace and sank down into the cushions to relax. Rachel literally bounced in from her shower to get her smoothie and joined the blonde.

"How are you not in pain?"

"The shower was quite rejuvenating. I have a set of shower gels that are specifically geared toward relieving sore muscles."

Rachel bounced up off the couch and before Quinn could inquire where she was going there were two hands on her right calf and fingertips were pressing _just right_ into the tissue. Quinn had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning inappropriately as Rachel's fingers pressed deep into her muscles and massaged out the soreness and knots.

"If I didn't love you before I really do now." Quinn smiled and wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders when the brunette returned to the couch and snuggled into her side. Quinn dropped her head to brush her lips against the shell of Rachel's ear. "You have magic fingers."

"So I've been told. Loudly. And I must say," Rachel lifted Quinn's hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, "I believe yours have some magical properties as well."

"Who's up for Monopoly?" Michael practically yelled from the kitchen. "I'm up for it!"

"Of course," Rachel mumbled.

Quinn just smiled and kissed Rachel's temple.

Over the game of Monopoly a schedule for the last two weeks of vacation was hashed out. There were a few days that the adults scheduled for family time and although Quinn would rather have spent them with Rachel, she agreed. The relationship with her mother was starting out great but she understood it needed a little more work before they returned to Lima.

"Are you really okay with this?" Quinn asked over lunch one afternoon. They were at a café down by the lake, just her and her mother, while Rachel and her dads were doing their own thing. While her mother had been more than accepting, it was still floating in Quinn's brain what she'd been taught all of her life in her Bible study sessions and sermons at church. Things her father had told her that she'd obviously ignored. Her mother never said much on the subject which is what worried the blonde the most.

"I told you, Quinnie, I'm happy if you're happy."

"If you're not…"

"Your father won't be, if he finds out. I'm not your father. I lived with him and his close-mindedness for so long that I lost who I was, Quinn. In college I was very…I…I was different, we'll just say that. I met your father and I fell in love with him and he had this way of saying things that made me believe anything. You're not the only one trying to figure out who she is, sweetie."

Quinn nodded. "Someone really smart told me she only ever wanted me to be who I wanted to be."

"You love her?"

"Yeah."

"That's all that matters to me. And, for the record, I'm a little more perceptive than you give me credit for. I just think you're smart enough to handle yourself and there are some things a mother just wants to…not think about."

Quinn felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she bit back a smile and nodded. "Sorry."

"I was sixteen once. Granted, you've gone through a little bit more at sixteen than most."

Quinn ducked her head at that until she felt her mother's hand clasp her own.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You handled yourself and you got through it. You're one of the strongest young women I know."

"I guess I get it from you." Quinn couldn't help but notice the unsure look on her mother's face. She'd seen that look staring back at her in the mirror more often than not over the last year. "We'll be okay, Mom."

Her mother's look was a little surer as she smiled and nodded and turned the conversation in a lighter direction. They talked about redecorating the house and Quinn urged her mother to get back into the workforce and put her marketing and real estate degrees to good use. The conversation flowed easily; Quinn didn't hold back, and even though it was only the beginning it was a hell of a long way from where they'd started the summer.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks. Fourteen days. Rachel willed for the days to go slow but with each morning run she knew it wasn't going to happen. They would run the same route every morning and sit on the dock to watch the sun come up and each morning was a little more solemn than the one before. The days were spent doing last minute shopping and finding as many moments alone with Quinn as humanly possible before they had to leave their bubble. A few days were spent with their respective parents. Quinn always came back from days with her mother with a smile on her face. Rachel's days with her fathers were just as good. They talked plenty about the future, not only Rachel's but that of the family. Rachel had decided not to keep in contact with Shelby unless it was because of Quinn and Beth and upon revealing this to her dads they looked concerned but said it was her decision and if she was happy with it then that's what was important.

The Berrys were in the middle of a heated game of Texas Hold 'Em where Rachel had just won her third round in a row just as her phone buzzed on the table.

_I kno its lame but I miss u :-P -Q_

"Rachel," her Daddy said, his tone serious, "family time."

"Sorry." Rachel tucked her phone in her pocket and smiled. "It was Quinn."

"You spend every moment of every day together; you can survive for a few hours to spend with the old men."

"I know, Daddy."

"So…Quinn and you," Michael said with his brow furrowed.

Rachel nodded at her dad.

"We haven't really had a chance to talk about that."

Rachel shook her head. "We haven't."

"I'm surprised you don't have a speech prepared," Bruce chuckled.

"I love her. That's what matters, correct?"

The response wasn't exactly encouraging. Both men nodded slowly and exchanged glances before Michael spoke again.

"Sweetheart, we just want to make sure you understand that we do live in Lima, Ohio. Things aren't going to be this great when you get back to school."

"I'm well aware of that; I've been dealing with tormenters since elementary school."

"We just don't want you getting hurt. You have to be careful."

"I promise, I will be."

Rachel gave her best confident smile and she meant it. She was confident. She knew it wouldn't be easy, she'd watched her dads get berated for years and she herself had been picked on because of them, but she wasn't about to give up Quinn because of it. She could only hope that Quinn felt the same. The Berrys went out for lunch after another round of poker, they decided on a restaurant near the berry patch because Rachel insisted she needed to go back. She found what she was looking for in the gift shop and grinned as she tucked it away in her dresser just as Quinn and Judy got back from their afternoon out.

The last few days of vacation were spent cleaning the cabin and finalizing travel arrangements. Rachel was thoroughly disappointed that Quinn and Judy couldn't get out of their flight arrangements. It meant a few days without her girlfriend, one of which was Quinn's seventeenth birthday, but her fathers assured her that she would survive. The Berrys were leaving Friday afternoon and splitting the drive into two parts; they were scheduled to arrive back in Lima on Saturday evening. Rachel begged them to push the travel schedule back a day because the Fabrays' flight didn't leave until Sunday but Michael and Bruce refused, citing that they both had to work Monday morning.

As Rachel finished packing her things Thursday night to ensure she was ready to leave Friday morning her fingers brushed over the box in her dresser she was saving for Saturday if she had been able to convince her dads to push the drive back. She packed her last item and had to sit on her suitcase to get it to zip up and then grabbed the box and headed to the common room.

"All packed?" Michael asked from the kitchen island.

Rachel nodded as she crossed the floor to the couch in front of the fireplace where Quinn was curled up with her iPod. The blonde smiled as Rachel dropped to the couch and she tugged out her earbuds. Rachel was greeted with a kiss and an attempt at Quinn taking her hands but she pulled away.

"Since I won't get to see you on the date of your actual birthday I thought I would give you your gift now." Rachel held out the box and Quinn cautiously inspected it before picking it up.

"This isn't like…a ring, right? I mean…I-I love you but that's a little much."

"It's not a ring. I'm well aware that we're not ready for that level of commitment yet. And I love you, too."

Quinn nodded and opened the box; Rachel jumped and squeaked a little as Quinn picked up the gold necklace in the box with the small strawberry pendant dangling from it.

"Do you like it?"

Rachel took Quinn tackling her backward and crushing their lips together as an affirmative.  
"Girls, once again, mothers don't want to see some things."

"Neither do fathers."

"You two are lucky, trust me."

Rachel pushed Quinn up and was rewarded with peck on the cheek as Quinn fastened the necklace and centered the red and green pendant on her chest.

"It's perfect."

"_You're_ perfect."

"You're so cheesy, Berry."

"Yes but I happen to know that you love me."

Quinn shrugged. "I can't argue with that."

Rachel snuggled deeper into Quinn's side and the blonde handed her one ear bud and although her first choice to fall asleep to was almost always the _Les Mis_ sound track, she could get used to...Rachel grabbed Quinn's iPod and looked at the screen to figure out exactly what she was listening to.

"Jay-Z?"

Quinn chuckled. "Mercedes got me into it. It's not bad. Hey, listen to Empire State of Mind, it's really good."

Rachel listened for a while and had to admit that the song was really, very good. It was well constructed and even something that could be adapted to glee club. The songs played on and Rachel was vaguely aware of switching positions and resting her head on Quinn's chest. She thought she heard a whispered, "just leave them be," but she wasn't sure.

When Rachel woke, there was just a little bit of light coming in from the windows. She was still on top of Quinn, the iPod earbud had fallen out, and Quinn's arms were holding her tight. Rachel looked up at Quinn's peaceful face and reached up to gently trace her fingertips over the blonde's mouth.

"Staring is creepy, baby," Quinn mumbled. She kissed Rachel's fingertips and blinked a few times before opening her eyes and smiling.

"You up for a run?"

Quinn shook her head. "I just want to hold you."

"Alright."

The next thing Rachel was aware of was her daddy's hand on her shoulder and a soft smile on his face as he whispered, "you need to get ready, sweetie. We're leaving in an hour."

Rachel gently disentangled herself from Quinn and got dressed. By the time she was finished, Quinn was awake and there was more cuddling until Michael announced that it was officially departure time. Silently, Quinn helped Rachel load her bags into the back of the SUV and stood with her arms around Rachel's waist and a sleepy smile on her face.

"I'll see you on Sunday," Quinn whispered before pressing a kiss to Rachel's forehead. "Call me when you can."

"I will, promise."

"Let's go Rachel."

Rachel nodded toward her daddy and then looked back to Quinn and up into hazel eyes with a smile. She reached up to bring their lips together in a soft kiss and brushed Quinn's cheek with her thumb and traced her fingertips down the gold chain to the strawberry pendant resting on her chest, just above the gold cross.

"Love you, Rach."

"Love you, too."

Rachel broke the embrace and slowly made her way to the SUV. She looked back as her Daddy drove away and waved at her girlfriend until the cabin was out of sight.

Thanks to splitting the drive into two days, Rachel wasn't nearly as exhausted as she thought she'd be when they finally returned home. She immediately set to doing her laundry while her dads picked up the mail from the post office before it closed. Rachel found Quinn's shirt she'd picked up at the campsite and smiled. When she pulled it out of the dryer she took it upstairs with the rest of her laundry and tucked it under her pillow. It was a little creepy, yeah, but she was pretty sure Quinn still had her shirt from the first-aid kit. It all evened out.

The Berrys found the refrigerator stocked with food with a note from their neighbors across the street and the set of keys they'd left with them. Rachel checked her MySpace and Facebook pages and wrote a quick note on both telling of her safe arrival home before calling Quinn. They talked until Rachel couldn't keep her eyes open and Quinn promised to call before her flight left the next day.

XXXXXXXXXX

In the beginning of the summer Quinn would've laughed if someone had said that by the end of it she would be able to spend a weekend with her mother by themselves and not have it be awkward or silent. They cooked meals together and talked more about redecorating. Quinn didn't argue when her mother said she wanted to practically throw everything out of the house and start new. They picked out a color scheme for each room, all of them bright and inviting rather than museum-like. While packing, Quinn found Rachel's shirt that had been in the first-aid kit she'd dragged with her into the woods to be Quinn's knight in shining armor. Quinn smiled at it and picked at a couple of loose threads before tucking it safely in her bag with absolutely no intention of returning it.

The flight back was much better than the flight there, mostly due to the fact that they took a small plane to Buffalo and then a larger plane with a competent pilot into Columbus. Quinn spent most of the shuttle ride back to Lima asleep after sending a text to Rachel that they'd landed safely and would be home in a few hours. As expected, when the driver pulled up in the Fabray driveway, there was a short brunette sitting on the front doorstep.

Quinn was met with a kiss and a bear hug from Rachel, as if they hadn't spent the entire summer together.

"I've arranged for a party tomorrow afternoon," Rachel said as she helped Quinn drag her bags upstairs to her room. "For some reason, the fellow glee clubbers were incredibly enthusiastic about it."

Quinn shrugged and tossed her bags on the bedroom floor then pulled Rachel to the bed to curl up next to her. "Are we going to tell them?" Quinn asked as she ran her fingers through Rachel's hair.

"Finn knows which means Noah probably knows."

"Santana knows and she tells Brittany everything."

"And Brittany tells everyone else everything."

"I say we worry about it later."

Quinn grinned when Rachel nodded and closed the distance between their faces to kiss her.

Per Rachel's instructions, Quinn was at the Berry house at exactly 1:45 the next afternoon to help set up for the party at 2. The other glee club members (minus Finn) arrived all practically together and they all looked like they'd been drinking Mountain Dew for hours.

"I'm very glad you all agreed to participate in this gathering today," Rachel started. "It really is a pleasure…"

"Save it, Rachel," Kurt said. "We only want to know how long you and Quinn were planning on keeping your," he gestured back and forth between them, "whatever it is from us."

Quinn, followed by everyone else, immediately looked at Brittany. Rachel slowly made her way to sit on the arm of the chair Quinn had settled herself in.

"I didn't do it."

"She really didn't," Artie piped up. "Finn…"

"Finn got drunk and spouted off to Jacob Ben Israel," Mercedes growled. "Then he posted it on his blog."

"We threatened him with daily swirlies and dumpster tosses until he took it down," Puck said, high fiving Matt and Mike.

"Like I said," Kurt continued, "we're the only ones allowed to humiliate our teammates."

"In other words, we got your backs. No one will mess with you guys this year."

Quinn reached over to slip her hand into Rachel's. "Thanks Mercedes."

Mercedes nodded.

"And, uh, Finn's been told to kind of back off for a while," Tina said quietly.

"Actually," Puck growled, "I told him he was a punk and he better not screw up again or I'd let him get his ass knocked out in every football game we have this year."

"So…I take it you're all okay with this?" Rachel asked quietly. Quinn squeezed her hand as they waited for the response.

Kurt smiled. "I won a lot of money off of it. You two have been breaking my gaydar forever."

"I'm surprised you don't break your own gaydar."

Kurt rolled his eyes in Santana's direction. "Those two may break it but you and Britt? Whatever's left, you shatter the pieces."

"We like boys, too."

"You're not helping, B."

"Can we please stop talking about this?"

"Oh come on, Mercedes," Puck chuckled. "I totally want to hear about this."

"You would, sex shark."

"You know it."

As Quinn listened to her friends argue back and forth she pulled Rachel into her lap and hugged her arms around the smaller girl and drew themselves into their own little bubble. Rachel leaned down to touch her forehead to Quinn's and smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Rach."

"Ew, no one wants to see that!"

"Shut up, Santana! Don't be such a frickin' twat swat!"

"You shut it, Puck!"

It prompted another fight and Quinn shook her head and held Rachel a little tighter when the brunette nuzzled her neck.

The summer might have been over and there was most definitely a long year ahead but this moment? With the most unexpected person in her arms, her friends, and a mother out at Lima Lumber looking at paint colors that _they_ decided on? This moment was perfect. Quinn never thought she'd be thankful for things like freak booking accidents, summer cabins, sprained knees, and berry farms, but she was.

"You think we could get that cabin next summer?" Quinn asked as Rachel traced her fingers up and down the blonde's arm.

"As long as we're sans our parents, I don't really care where we go."

The noise finally settled down a little and the glee kids, one at a time, started telling stories of their summer and Quinn smiled at Rachel, knowing their story had just started, and a cabin by the lake was their "once upon a time".

_**The end.**_


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